The Matchmaking Games
by alisaholmes
Summary: When Tony, Clint and Natasha make a bet about the Ice Queen, Steve decides to stop it after he learns the identity of said Queen. Little does Steve know that the whole bet may or may not be an elaborate matchmaking plan from a certain genius. Things seem to be going well with the plan, until a new green villain shows up, as well as an ally, who messes up Tony's ship.
1. The Bet

**A/N: Hey guys! This is my first fanfiction ever so I would really appreciate reviews and any edits you think I should make. I am sort of unsure where this takes place, probably after Age of Ultron as Bucky lives in the tower with all of our darling Avengers. Thank you guys, and I hope you enjoy :)  
**

 **DISCLAIMER: I would love to own Marvel, but unfortunately that is way out of my reach.**

 **CHAPTER ONE: The Bet**

* * *

Steve took one look at the three Avengers and immediately knew that something was up. He wasn't sure what exactly tipped him off though: maybe it was Tony Stark's villainous laughs, or Clint Barton's sneaky glances, or even the slight upturn of Natasha's lips. Or maybe because they were all huddled in the kitchen pantry certainly not being conspicuous. Steve strode right toward them, not even making an attempt to be stealthy.

"What's up, Spangles?' Tony said, immediately covering up their conversation and bringing Clint and Natasha's attention to the super soldier. Like that wasn't totally suspicious.

"Do I even want to know what you three are planning?" Steve asked.

"Probably not," Clint conceded. Steve rolled his eyes and glared at Tony; Tony was usually the one that was easiest to break with just a stare, but miraculously he did not say a word. He merely looked at his co-conspirators, who each gave him a nod of approval. It seemed so business-like, something Steve could never imagine Tony being.

"We are making a bet among ourselves," Tony replied. Steve let out a sigh of relief. At least it wasn't something that involved pranking or the Hulk or both. That didn't go well last time. But Steve hesitated. It was pretty common of these three to cause mischief, but a bet seemed too harmless. He cocked an eyebrow, his own symbol for tell me now before I dropkick you. It was a skill he had to perfect to become the leader of the Avengers.

"Oh there's the dropkick look," Tony commented. Natasha nodded her head in agreement but Clint looked skeptical.

"I don't see it," Clint said, tilting his head, focusing on Steve.

"Aren't you named Hawkeye for your exceptional eyesight?" Tony asked.

"Yes," Clint replied.

"Then why can't you see the dropkick look?" Tony exploded. Natasha nodded her head in agreement and gave Tony a high five. Steve had to admit that that Tony's response was, how do they say it, ahh on point. But he also realized that Tony was changing the subject and Steve wanted to know what that bet was about.

"Well what's the bet on?" Steve asked, diverting the conversation. It seemed as though this time, Clint was the spokesperson for the group. He received approving nods from both Natasha and Tony before he spoke.

"The bet is to make the Ice Queen laugh. Whoever does it first gets a gift certificate to that new restaurant that Tony owns, called Pepper," Clint said. Tony pulled out an embossed envelope as Clint was speaking.

"It's a restaurant I gave to Pepper for her birthday that even I pay to go in because it's that awesome," Tony exclaimed.

'And I'm going to win this bet," Natasha cut in,"because Bruce and I really would enjoy a date night and…" she trailed off and didn't finish her sentence.

"Stop thinking about his zucchini!" Tony interjected. Clint rolled his eyes at the two and started to speak.

"Actually, I'll be winning that bet," he said, plucking the envelope from Tony's hand, "Laura and I have been dying to have a date night. Three kids are killer, man," Clint said, but Steve could see the love in Clint's eyes for his family.

Steve thought for a moment; who would he like to take on this fancy dinner? Seventy years ago he would have said Peggy, heck even a couple years ago when he found out Peggy was still alive, he would have taken her. But now a different name popped into his head, Maria. However, she would probably shut him down before he had even had the thought of asking her. Reluctantly, Steve turned his head back to the conversation, which included the three Avengers bickering over who would win the bet.

"Like you could ever make the Ice Queen laugh," Clint sneered at Natasha.

"What are you gonna do, dress up like a clown?" Natasha retorted.

"Wait, who's the Ice Queen?" Steve asked. That part still confused him. The three Avengers dramatically turned toward Steve, all bickering done now. To Steve, it seemed that the trio had a new problem. From the looks on their faces, he was guessing it was his ignorance.

"You really don't know who the Ice Queen is? Even JARVIS knows who the Ice Queen is!" Tony shouted.

"That I do, sir," JARVIS added.

"Not helping, guys," Steve said, sounding a little miffed. He hated this feeling of being left out; for Gosh sake, Steve had already been left out for about seventy years.

"I can't believe this," Tony exclaimed, and dramatically collapsed on the nearest kitchen stool. Clint and Natasha rolled their eyes at the exact time that Steve couldn't help but think that it was practiced.

"Anyway, if Drama Queen over there is done, let me tell you who the Ice Queen is" Natasha said, bringing Steve's attention back to her. He nodded in anticipation expecting some random S.H.I.E.L.D. agent's name to be pulled out of nowhere.

"Maria Hill is the Ice Queen."

:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:

Steve froze for a second, the words ringing in his ears. Maria? The Ice Queen? But Maria radiated warmth! It shined through her amber eyes, through those soft smiles she gave once in awhile. Heck, she could make heat flush into Steve's cheeks just by walking into the Avengers common room. (Though he still vehemently attributed that to the super serum flowing in his veins. It was just a coincidence that this "overheating" occurred whenever Maria was around).

"Ice Queen?" he managed to stammer out. Steve just couldn't understand why Natasha, Clint and Tony would call her the Ice Queen. Well, he could understand why Tony would call her that, as the genius had a penchant for nicknames for his teammates and friends. It had taken weeks for Steve to stop Tony from calling him the "Star Spangled Man with a Plan". Even longer to stop him from playing the song everytime he walked into the common room. But calling Maria the "Ice Queen" seemed a little harsh, especially when Clint and Natasha were supposed to be Maria's best friends.

"Well everyone at S.H.I.E.L.D. called Maria, Ice Queen because she is completely heartless." Clint answered. Natasha and Tony nodded their heads in agreement.

"But Maria isn't heartless!" Steve defended. The accusation annoyed him more than it should have. After all, ever since Maria had started working at Stark Industries, she had started to lower her guard a little. Even Dr. Banner who was completely oblivious to Natasha's flirting had commented on the longer smiles and the quick wit that Maria had never shown before.

"Come on Cap! Even Natasha has more emotions than her!" Clint argued. He received a slap in the head as well from Natasha.

"That cannot be true" Steve said.

"Look Captain, have you ever seen her laugh? Like actual full blown peals of laughter?" Tony asked. Steve was about vigorously answer in the affirmative, when he hesitated. Really, the only time he had ever seen Maria laughing her heart out was during Avenger parties, when she was totally drunk. Of course, there were those moments when she would come to see him and vent about working at Stark Industries. Those sessions ended up in laughter but Steve wanted to keep that to himself. He stayed silent and Tony took that as a cue to continue.

"So that's why we made the bet. To actually see the Ice Queen laugh-with no alcohol. Want to join?" Steve quickly nodded his head, joining in the bet.

"Great," Natasha added, "Let the games begin." And at those words, Steve walked away from the Avengers, his mind swirling with conflicted thoughts.

:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:

As soon as Steve walked away, Tony spun toward the two super spies not even trying to be discreet.

"That was his I'm going to do something about this face, right? Tony asked.

"Yup, I actually saw that look this time," Clint confirmed. Natasha rolled her eyes but didn't say anything else on the matter.

"Shall I inform Mr. Barnes of Captain Roger's current location?" JARVIS asked.

"Yes, J. Tell him to commence Phase 2," Tony said.

"Let the matchmaking games begin," Natasha announced, sharing a smirk with Clint and Tony. Just then, Bruce and Thor walked in for breakfast and stopped still at the sight at the three. Bruce sighed and pulled off his glasses.

"Do we want to know?" he asked, indicating Thor and himself.

"Probably not sweetie," Natasha replied.


	2. The Romantic

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the wait, but thank you so much for your follows, reviews, etc. I sort of struggled with this chapter and I posted it as quickly as I finished, so there might be errors. Please don't hesitate to point them out. Suggestions and reviews are always appreciated.**

 **Responses to Reviews are at the bottom :)**

 **I think this chapter came out longer that I expected. Let's get this started; shall we?**

 **DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately I don't own Marvel. If I did, there would be no Civil War and our superheroes would be frolicking into the sunset *sigh***

 **CHAPTER TWO: The Romantic**

* * *

Steve punched the bag without much effort, but it still went swinging off the hook like a child jumping off a swing. _Twelve_ , he silently counted in his head as he went to hang up another one. The closing of the gym door echoed in the empty room, and Steve looked up to see Bucky walking in with a charming grin on his face.

"What's up, doc?" he asked. Steve smiled at his Bugs Bunny reference.

"Nothing," Steve said, as he started to punch the bag.

"Nothing?" Bucky echoed, eyes raised over the eleven shattered punching bags lying to the side. "I wouldn't say that eleven punching bags, plus that one you're abusing over there, is nothing." Steve shook his head and returned to his bag. Bucky came around the back and held the bag still, as Steve smashed it.

"You know when you were younger, I could always tell that you were frustrated because of the way your jaw was set. Glad to see that hasn't changed," Bucky reminisced, trying to bait him. Steve didn't say anything, just kept striking the bag. "Glad to also see that you still keep everything bottled up like some idiot," Bucky muttered.

'I heard that," Steve said, turning away from the punching bag, and taking a break on the closest bench. He grabbed his water bottle from the side as Bucky joined him.

"Now what's on your mind?" Bucky asked.

"Just a silly bet that Tony, Clint and Natasha made about Maria," Steve responded, before taking a refreshing sip.

"You mean Maria Hill, that beautiful spy lady who's masquerading as a PA for Stark." Steve squirmed when Bucky claimed that Maria was pretty but really anybody would know that just by looking at her.

"Yup."

"So what's so horrible about the bet?'

"Nothing, really. It's just that.."

"Just that?" Bucky prompted.

"Well the reasons that Tony, Clint and Natasha are using. They make her out to be some unemotional person with a heart of ice. They even call her the Ice Queen. But I know she isn't like that."

"You saw Frozen too?"

"Yup. Tony put it at the top of my list," Steve responded, before taking another sip. The cool water soothed his parched throat but did nothing for his anger.

"So you think by having this bet, they are insulting Maria?" Bucky deduced.

"How are they not insulting Maria?"

"Well," Bucky started, "Isn't that how she is? Never talks about her past, don't even know if she actually has a family, heck, do you know her favorite color?"

"Navy Blue." Steve blurted. Bucky looked at him with surprise. "What? I talk to her occasionally." Bucky, with a cheeky grin on his face, stood up and offered Steve his arm. Steve took it and rose from the bench.

"Glad to also see that your I'm so in love face hasn't changed either."

"What?" Steve asked, hoping, actually praying to God, that there was no tell tale blush on his cheeks.

"Oh please, don't try lying to your best friend of eighty years, give or take a couple. I've seen that face every time you looked at Peggy. How would I not recognize it?" Bucky asked. Steve didn't say a word, just returned to his punching bag with harder hits.

"So what are you going to do about it?" Bucky questioned, over Steve's punches. Steve paused.

"That's the thing, I have no clue." Steve said.

"I think I do."

:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:

Steve stood in front of Maria's office not daring to step in. Instead, he had been pacing outside for about ten minutes and received no less than five questioning glances from other employees. For a man of action, Steve was remarkably inactive about his predicament. Bucky's plan ran through his head, but as Peggy had said some seventy years ago, he was incapable of talking to women. Maria was a woman. Ergo, his problem. Summoning some semblance of bravery, Steve finally pulled open Maria's door and walked into her office.

Just as he had predicted, she was sitting at her desk looking over paperwork. Her head had popped up as soon as he walked in. She gave him a smile that almost instantaneously morphed into a frown.

"Steve, hey, did I forget that we had lunch today?" she asked, shifting papers off her desk in search of something. Steve guessed it was for her Starkphone as she put all of her appointments on that six inch thing.

"Uhh no, I just wanted to talk to you," Steve said, already wincing at how he sounded. He was using his interrogation voice, definitely not a great way to start the conversation. He cleared his throat in an attempt to return back to his normal baritone.

"Sorry, Steve but I'm—" she stopped as Steve pulled out a King size Hershey's bar from his leather jacket. "Totally available right now," she finished. Steve chuckled and handed her the bar. Then, he took his usual seat in front of her.

"So,"she said as she unwrapped the chocolate, and gave him a piece, "what's the bribe for?" Steve ducked his head down, trying to remember the next lines that Bucky had taught him next. But a bout of nervousness flooded through him, similar to what he experienced every time he had talked to Peggy, and everything that Bucky had taught him flew out his head.

"Wouldyouliketogotodinnerwithme?" Steve asked rapidly, then had an immense urge to go bang his head into a wall. Maria had dropped her chocolate into her lap in surprise and he heard a muffled noise somewhere. However, he was more focused on how he could be such an idiot. Apparently, even after seventy years, Steve was still incapable of talking to the other sex. He looked up to see Maria open her mouth to say something, but he put up a hand.

"God no that's not what I meant. Really shouldn't have led with that." Steve said, wishing he could run of this office this instant.

"So what did you want to lead with?" Maria asked, her eyes dancing with slight amusement at his obvious embarrassment, but something was off. Steve could detect that at least. He ignored it though so he could get this conversation back on Bucky's script.

"Would you like to prank Clint, Natasha and Tony?" Steve asked.

"Didn't peg Captain America for the pranking type," Maria answered, her face filled with a cheeky smile, "Why are we pranking them?"

"Because they are doing something that I don't exactly...approve of," he settled on. He saw Maria opening her mouth for another question but Steve cut through. He didn't particularly want to explain the circumstances of the bet.

"Plus, we would split a prize of dinner at Pepper's restaurant," Steve dangled in front of her. "Which is why I asked if you'd like to go to dinner with me." Steve clarified, feeling his cheeks heating up. He looked up to see Maria with an impassive face, oddly reminiscent of the mask she tended to wear while working for S.H.I.E.L.D.. She murmured something under her breath, but even with his enhanced hearing, he wasn't able to catch a word.

"So will you do it?" he asked, hoping so much for a yes or any version of the word. Maria rolled her eyes at him in exasperation and studied his face for a moment before answering.

"Fine." she said, sounding disgruntled. And at that one word, Steve couldn't help but let his face split into a wild grin. It wasn't every day you got Maria Hill to do something without much cajoling and bribing, but he was able to do it. Not to brag, but he was feeling pretty good about himself.

"Ok, so all you have to do is watch out for Clint, Tony, Natasha. Make sure you do not laugh at them at all, no matter what they do or say, don't laugh."

"This doesn't sound like a prank."

"Well trust me, it is." Steve affirmed, as he rose from his chair. Now that he didn't have Bucky's script to go off, he was starting to feel edgy again, so he turned to leave.

"I always trust you," Maria said offhandedly as she rebooted her computer. Steve stopped at those words and looked back to see Maria staring at her computer, but wearing a small smirk. He could feel his own lips curving upwards as he left the office, an inescapable feeling of joy filling him. Come on, he made Maria agree to something she probably didn't want to do and also received a compliment from her. Right now, Steve was well past cloud nine and orbiting in the atmosphere.

:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:

"Whoo, I thought your boy was going to lose it there for a second," Tony exclaimed, as they watched Steve walk out of Maria's office on the screen. Bucky shot him a glare, but couldn't argue. Even he thought Steve would mess it up, but he didn't say it out loud. He was with Steve till the end of the line, which loosely translated to defending him against Tony Stark sometimes.

"Says the guy who almost messed it up by uttering a curse word," Natasha said, looking at Tony with a raised eyebrow.

"Fortunately, Bucky here closed my mouth. Unfortunately, it was with that metal arm of his. When did you last clean it, 1962? I can still taste the rusting metal," Tony said, while making retching noises. Clint chuckled at his antics and Bucky couldn't help but laugh himself.

"Do you think they noticed?" Bucky finally asked, as the laughter subsided.

"I don't think so," Natasha replied.

"Did you hear what she said after Steve told her about the dinner?" Clint asked.

"She said something?" Natasha and Tony asked in unison.

"Steve said and I quote 'Which is why I asked if you'd like to go to dinner with me." to which Maria replied 'Is that really the only reason?'. Man, she totally likes him," Clint finished. Bucky looked at him in amazement; even his advanced Soviet tech didn't pick that up. Tony looked skeptical, but then his confusion vanished.

"Oh your hearing aids, I forgot." Tony said, and everyone's puzzlement dissolved.

"Oh my god," Natasha whispered, "so you were right! I kinda just went along with it in the beginning but I never thought you were actually correct. I can't believe me and Clint didn't pick that up. We're her longest friends!" she directed toward Tony. The billionaire shrugged, feigning modesty.

"How do you think you and Bruce got together? Or Vision and the Witch?" Tony asked.

"The Vision and the Witch aren't together." Bucky stated. Tony threw him a glare.

"Check back in a couple of weeks will you?" Clint couldn't help but drop his mouth.

"You mean that vacation I won with Laura—"

"Yup." Tony answered and walked away. "Get ready for Phase 3, Bucky," he said, but Clint, Bucky and Natasha just stared at his retreating figure.

"What is that man?" Natasha murmured. "Every time I think I have a read on him, he completely crushes it."

"At least we know one thing,"Clint said, looking at Natasha and Bucky, "Tony Stark is a romantic."

* * *

 **And that's it. I hope you liked the chapter! I'll try to update as quick as possible. It's be pretty dope if I got some reviews, and maybe if you like this story enough a favorite would be nice :)**

 **RussianAssassin:** Hey Russhie! I'm so happy you're into my story! I can't wait to write the ending too, cause I have a billion ideas. Hope you keep reading! :D

 **Qweb:** YES exactly, and now we know that deep down inside Tony Stark is a romantic who loves matchmaking. At least my version of him does anyway ;)

 **Rohanyoshi:** Thank you so much for your encouragement! I have no clue why I thought Maria has brown eyes, thanks for pointing that out!

 **GabycatStark13:** Awww thank you. I'm a Clintasha person too, but I don't know, some fanfics on this site are making me lean toward Brutasha (please don't kill me :D)


	3. The Wingman

**A/N: Hello people! :) Sorry for the long wait on the update, but I had a lot going on last week. Thank you for your reviews, follows, favorites etc.**

 **You know, I'm not exactly how many chapters this will have. I guess we'll have to see.**

 **As always, suggestions and reviews all appreciated. Responses to reviews are at the bottom.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel, guys. You don't know how much this pains me.**

 **CHAPTER THREE: The Wingman**

* * *

Bucky was strategically waiting at the kitchen counter of the Avengers common room. Since the kitchen opened up to the living area, his position gave him a fine view of the elevators. He needed a fine view, because according to Phase 3 of Tony's "How to Hook Up a Capsicle and an Ice Queen' initiative, Maria was going to come up those elevators any minute, and then he would have to execute his charm. Charm, meaning, being a huge wingman for Steve.

Bucky was guaranteed the common room for at least an half and hour, as Bruce was tucked away in his lab, and Thor was training in the gym. That was all the time he had to convince Maria to go to dinner with Steve. It was definitely a simple task, but not easy to accomplish.

He shifted the comm in his ear, and held a knife in his right hand and a tomato in his left metallic arm. To the casual observer, it would look like Bucky was making a sandwich for lunch, but he was trying to convince Maria Hill, spy extraordinaire, of this fact, so he had a slew of ingredients scattered everywhere. He kept his knife on top of the bright red skin of the fruit, ready to start acting.

"Ok," Tony mumbled in his comm, "Remember, all you have to do is make her fall in love with Steve." Bucky rolled his eyes at Tony's exaggeration."Ok, T-minus 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and action!" On cue, the elevator dinged and Bucky started chopping the tomato like it was nobody's business. The familiar click clack of heels tapped on the granite floor, and Bucky looked up feigning surprise at seeing Maria walk into the tower.

"Maria, what can I do for you?" Bucky said, all smiles and cheer. She narrowed her eyes at him just as Tony spoke in his ear.

"Jeez, will you tone down the exuberance? You sound like a princess out of a fucking Disney movie." Bucky heard murmurs of agreement in his comm, but fought to to show any signs of annoyance on his face. Luckily, Maria seemed to disregard it and asked him a question.

"Did you see Pepper anywhere? She asked me to bring her these files," she said, holding up a thick manila folder stamped with the Stark Industries symbol.

"Nope." So that was Tony's distraction. Huh, it was actually plausible and not at all extravagant.

"JARVIS, do you know where she is?" Maria asked the invisible A.I.. As practiced earlier, JARVIS responded as Tony told him to.

"I'm afraid Ms. Potts is otherwise...occupied with Mr. Stark. You are welcome to wait in the kitchen with Mr. Barnes, Agent Hill." Maria rolled her eyes and dropped down into her seat with huff of annoyance.

"I make killer sandwiches," Bucky offered.

"No pickles," Maria said, and Bucky snickered as he grabbed two slices of bread from the loaf.

"What's so funny?" Maria asked, in a tone that sounded like she was going to slay him alive but was only not doing so because Bucky was her crush's best friend. Well, at least to Bucky, it seemed that way.

"Steve doesn't like pickles or mayonnaise on his sandwich," he said, hoping the conversation turned to the topic of Steve. Apparently, Tony also picked up the topic change.

"Pick up the bait, PICK UP THE BAIT!" Tony practically yelled into the comm. Really, Tony's comments were not helping the scenario at all, but since he was the one orchestrating the matchmaking, Bucky had no choice but to go along with him. Right now, Bucky was regretting his decision, but instead he focused on the agent in front of him. She was frowning at him, and Bucky desperately hoped that he hadn't blown his cover.

"How do you know so much about him?" Maria asked, and Bucky grinned widely. Agent Hill had caught the bait without knowing, and Bucky was practically frolicking on the inside.

"I know everything about that kid. I know his first kiss, his favorite Sinatra song, basically everything about him," Bucky said. Maria frowned, apparently deep in thought.

"Wait, the Capsicle knows how to kiss?" Tony muttered in the comm.

"Yes he does," Natasha said, "I had to kiss him when we were undercover."

"Oh, I have got to find footage of this," Tony said. Bucky tried his hardest to ignore the random conversation in his comm. Instead he finished Maria's sandwich and slid it to her, hoping that she didn't notice him spacing out.

"Does he still tell you everything?" Maria asked, as she picked at her sandwich warily. Bucky inwardly cheered in his head, as this conversation was going exactly how he wanted it to but kept his his face impassive.

"Yeah," he answered hesitantly. Tony and the others were finally silent on the comm, hanging on their every word. Maria looked around, checking her surroundings. Then, she spoke in her usual authoritative voice.

"JARVIS, this conversation is off record. Agent Maria Hill Override Code 912-037." She turned to Bucky then, with an almost embarrassed look. It was the most emotion that Bucky had ever seen on the Commander's face.

"I kinda don't want Tony having any record of this conversation," she said in response to his unspoken question. Bucky smiled at the irony, as Tony was able to listen to every word through his comm, but instead asked her a question.

"So what's on your mind, Agent Hill?"

"Well you told me that you knew everything about Steve, because he tells you everything," she started.

"Yes," Bucky answered.

"This morning Steve came into my office with a strange request. Out of the blue, he asked to me to prank the Avengers." Maria said. Bucky merely raised his eyebrows in fake surprise, as if he hadn't witnessed the entire event on JARVIS's screens.

"Steve does know how to prank people," Bucky said.

"Yes, well it's not about that. It's what he asked me to do." She stopped for a second before continuing. 'He wanted me to not laugh at whatever Clint, Tony or Natasha say or do."

"Ahhh," Bucky said. pretending that a huge revelation had come over him.

"I'm ready do it and all but not laughing at something isn't really a prank," Maria finished.

"I'm not sure if Steve would be happy if I told you the context of this." Bucky replied.

"I'm not sure you will be happy if you don't tell me the context of this," Maria said, with a threat underlying her voice, paired with an equally frightening glare. Even if Bucky wasn't supposed to tell Maria about the bet, he was pretty sure he would have spilled it right about now. Maria's glare made him want to blab everything from his inner childhood secrets to his deepest fears. He could see why Steve liked her; she was similar to Peggy, at least intimidation wise.

"Clint, Tony and Natasha made bet about you. Basically, whoever makes the Ice Queen, aka you, laugh, wins an all expenses paid dinner at Pepper's." Maria frowned when Bucky had said her nickname, but otherwise showed no reaction, so Bucky plowed on.

"So Steve got mad and joined in on the bet."

"Wait what?" Maria started.

"Well apparently, they kinda implied that you were heartless and that made Steve pissed, so he decided to join the bet, then come over to you to make sure you didn't let Clint, Tony or Natasha win because he thought they were dicks." Then, Bucky stopped, pretending like he had given away too much information.

"He's defending me against Clint, Tony and Natasha? I can take care of myself. I don't need him to be my knight in shining armor." Maria retorted angrily.

"But I'd bet he'd still like to be your knight in shining armor." Bucky replied cheekily. Maria's mouth was rounded in surprise.

"No, he doesn't," she protested weakly.

"Oh please, Maria, he joined a bet to defend your honor, you know like a knight in shining armor. Or really, in his case, a knight with a super patriotic shield. Anyway, that's how guys from the late 1940's court people," Bucky replied. Maria suppressed a snicker.

"Court?" Maria said, and he heard Tony giggle on the comm.

"Yeah, court. Oh, what do the kids call it these days? 'Hanging out?'" Bucky quoted with his fingers. Maria shot him an amused glare, but still looked unsure like she couldn't believe a word he said.

"And don't tell me you don't like him," Bucky snapped. He was on a roll now, and wasn't going to stop. "You said that you always trust him. That my friend, is super flirtatious," he smirked gloatingly, but the smile quickly slid off. Bucky realized his mistake as soon as he said it; he had quoted Maria from a conversation he technically shouldn't even have heard. Maria glared at him suspiciously, and Bucky flailed in his head for a response.

"When did I ever say I trusted him?" she asked, her face closing up with that familiar mask again. Bucky didn't know how to respond, but luckily Tony came to the rescue on the comm.

"Tell her that everyone trusts Captain America. He's a national icon for God's sake," Tony blurted in a rush. Bucky took Tony's words and fed them to Maria.

"Captain America is a national icon. Everyone trusts him." Bucky explained, knowing Maria was probably not convinced at all, and he had to change the subject immediately.

"Don't change the subject. You like him, don't you?" Bucky questioned, and suddenly Maria found something immensely appealing on her sandwich, and stared at it for quite some time. Bucky sighed in resignation.

"Well, if you do, you would follow along with his prank, and then go out to dinner with him. Lord knows, how much he would love that, you know, considering that he lurves you too," he said. Before Maria could retort, Thor walked into the common room.

"Brother Barnes, kindly make me one of your sandwiches. I am greatly fatigued from my workout," Thor boomed as he walked into the kitchen. Bucky chuckled at him and fully appreciated his timely arrival. He also loved the fact that Maria hadn't responded in her usual fashion and instead seemed to be deep in thought.

""I'll fix you one right away Thor," Bucky said.

"Ugh, I wish I could have one," Pepper groaned as she strolled in as well. Tony had probably sent her in as their time with Maria was cut short. She stopped short at the sight of Maria not reacting to both of them entering the kitchen.

"Is Lady Maria quite alright?" Thor asked in concern, as he plucked up Maria's untouched sandwich and started eating it for himself. Pepper shrugged and waved her hand in front of Maria's face, and finally she came out of her stupor.

"Pepper! Right! Your file!" she exclaimed loudly and scrambled for the manila folder that was right in front of her. Bucky picked it up with his metallic hand, and handed it to Maria, who seemed to calm after she'd received the folder in her hands. She wordlessly handed the folder to Pepper, and failed to make eye contact with the any of them. She was biting her lip, indicative of being in deep thought. Ever the diplomat, Pepper ignored the weird reaction of Maria and began to speak.

"Well Maria and I have a meeting with Oscorp so we'd better be going. Come along, Maria." she said, and the ladies walked to the elevator and spun around to face the doors. Pepper glanced back at Maria's face, and gave Bucky a victorious grin as the elevator doors slid shut.

"That was strange," Thor said, before promptly attempting to find more food in the pantry.

"No Thor, it was actually perfect." Bucky replied. He couldn't help but mirror Pepper's victorious smile, as he ran to the stairs and descended into Tony's workshop.

"That was also strange," Thor remarked, before he continued his pursuit for Pop-Tarts.

:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:

Clint watched on JARVIS's screens as Maria and Pepper walked away, presumably heading into the elevators. Though Maria had used her override code, Tony had convinced JARVIS that there was no point in blocking the conversation. They were hearing it through Bucky's comm anyway.

Clint tapped a key, bringing up the elevator feed, and saw Maria with her recognizable mask back in place. It was in that moment that Clint felt like the world's biggest prick.

Maria was supposed to be his best friend, only equivalent to Natasha and Coulson. Though he didn't know everything about her, he knew enough to able to read her emotions. Even then, he had never figured out that she liked the Captain. Out of all people, Tony Stark had deduced that Maria harbored a crush (and that the Cap reciprocated) and developed the huge plan to get them together.

Clint had first gone along with it unbelievingly, but now he could see that his best friend felt something toward the Captain and he had never picked up on it. Shaking himself out of his critical thoughts, Clint looked up at see Tony and Natasha, who were crowded around the monitor with him.

"So that went better than expected, right?" Clint asked. Personally, Clint thought Bucky knocked it out of the park. He had known Maria for a long time and she never believed anything without a mountain of evidence, but it looked like Bucky had done it in a matter of minutes. He'd made her believe that Steve liked her. However, Tony and Natasha's lack of response made him feel a tad nervous. Did they think that Bucky failed? Just then Bucky waltzed into the workshop, grinning brightly.

"So how did I do?' he asked, arms wide spread. Tony and Natasha didn't say anything and stared at him impassively. Clint shrugged at his friend's questioning glare.

"I got the same response."

"Say, aren't you supposed to be this killer assassin who is also exceptionally talented in the art of espionage?" Tony asked in a somewhat sarcastic tone. Clint liked where it was going already and leaned back into his chair.

"Yeah," Bucky answered hesitantly. Apparently, he had caught the mockery in Tony's voice too.

"And you've done this for about, oh well I don't know, maybe seventy years?" Natasha asked, feigning a certain nonchalance.

"Yes."

"Then how is it that you slip in front of Maria HIll out of all people?" Tony asked, and Clint had to cover his mouth with the nearest grease rag to stop himself from laughing at Bucky's expression.

"Well, she's scary…"

"Scary?" Tony asked incredulously. "You've had to fight Hydra Nazi's, and Maria HIll is who you find intimidating?"

"She's got the stare you know?" he asked, gesturing toward Clint to help him out. Clint did know what Bucky was talking about; he had been on the receiving end of that glare every time he had goofed out on a mission, but he wasn't going to admit that and dig Bucky out of his hole.

"What stare?" he asked innocently, and promptly received received a high five from Tony.

"You know, the I'm going to slay you alive stare?" Bucky responded, and Natasha couldn't help but giggle.

"Oh really? I've never noticed it. Have you, Tony?" Clint asked. In the midst of chuckles , Tony answered.

"Nope, can't say that I have."

"See," Clint said, "I think you are the only person to see this stare, Barnes."

"Well, I won't be soon, because now it's time for Phase 4-making Maria laugh." Bucky replied. "Who's going first?"

Instantly, Tony placed his finger on his nose and screamed "Not it!"

The others rolled their eyes at him but smirked. Natasha, however, gave Clint an evil smirk. Uh oh, he thought.

"I think Clint should go first," she said, and Clint almost fell out of his chair. He didn't want to go make Maria laugh. Despite being her friend, the stare was not something even he could successfully fight off. The only recorded case of resistance was in 2012, when Nick Fury dodged the stare to tell her to gather the Avengers, an initiative she didn't approve of.

"Make your case," Tony said, thoughtfully.

"Well, Clint has known her for the longest time, and if anyone could make her laugh, it would probably be him, then me, then you Tony. So, if we really want to see if Maria is going to follow Steve's 'prank', we should send the hardest person to resist first," Natasha reasoned.

"Oh, am I that irresistible?" Clint asked, waggling his eyebrows. At his face, Tony pretended to retch into the trashcan he seemed to pull out of nowhere, and Clint huffed in annoyance.

"So we're sending Barton into the war zone then?" Bucky asked, and Natasha and Tony nodded in the affirmative.

"Wait, don't I get a say in this?" Clint asked irritably.

"Nope," the trio chorused and Clint had an urge to smack all three of them.

"By the way, what are you doing to make her laugh?" Natasha asked.

"Well, I guess you'll have to wait and see," Clint responded as he stood from his chair and walked out of the workshop. "I'll be working on Phase 4 in my room if you need me," he said as he jumped out of his chair and moved toward the exit of the workshop. He jogged up the stairs and made a beeline to his computer. Clint was going to need a lot of help from Google if he wanted his plan to work.

* * *

 **I hoped you all liked the chapter! I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can, but I haven't decided whether I should write in Maria or Clint's perspective. Ahh, the struggles of being a fanfiction writer :D Please comment to tell me which perspective you might prefer :)**

 **I'd love some reviews and favorites :)**

 **daughter-of-the-muses:** Thank you for reviewing! Literally even I can't wait to see how I'm going to wrap this up.

 **Qweb:** Exactly. That is why I love Tony.

 **GabycatStark13:** I loved the whole idea of having the elaborate plans, which is why I love writing this fic. I was a little afraid that my Bucky was off, you made me feel much better about him :D Yes, I love writing tension between Steve and Maria, does that make me evil? :D You shouldn't worry about your English, i think its pretty good.

 **Spitfire303:** Do I take that as a good "Damn"? I'm just gonna take it as a good one :)


	4. The Villain's Entrance

**A/N: AHHH I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated. A couple of things though that I want to share with you.**

 **Ok so I've kinda changed parts of the past three chapters ...cuz let's just say I'm going in a new, weird direction., so I would really suggest at least skimming through them, especially Clint's POV in the last chapter**

 **I'm writing this fic in honor of a friend and she wanted me to add two characters in the story, Thor and Spider-Man so I've updated the fic for it to make sense. If you notice anything looking weird, don't hesitate to tell me**

 **As usual, suggestions and reviews are highly welcome and responses to reviews are at the bottom :)**

 **I feel like I'm obligated to remind you all that this an alternate universe because of something that happens in this chapter**

 **DISCLAIMER: Sadly, Marvel is not mine. I do claim ownership to Emily, who you'll meet in this chapter for about a couple of seconds. I haven't decided her path yet though**

 **CHAPTER FOUR: The Villain's Entrance**

* * *

The average elevator ride lasted about 118 seconds. Being that this was a Stark elevator, Maria could safely shave 45 seconds off that time. That left 73 seconds to process the literal shitstorm of information that had come her way in the last half and hour. Good thing that she had practice with this.

 ** _73 seconds_**

She thought back to the beginning of her conversation with Bucky, and how he said that he knew everything about Steve. She wondered if that was true considering that the man had only regained his memories and escaped his HYDRA programming two months ago. Maybe his words did have truth to them, but Maria couldn't help but remember the strange way he had acted. There was something she didn't know.

 ** _65 seconds_**

She was going to slay Clint, Natasha, and Stark for making this ridiculous bet. Mark her words, she was going make them suffer. Maybe she'd hide Barton's favorite bow, or lock Tony out of his workshop for a week. Oh, the possibilities were endless.

 ** _58 seconds_**

Why did Steve want even to defend her honor? It sounded like something a person would do if they were straight out of Pride and Prejudice or Little Women. Was that still the norm during the 1940's? Lord knows, it wasn't her style.

 ** _52 seconds_**

Though it was kind of adorable…

 _ **50 seconds**_

Focus, Maria!

 _ **48 seconds**_

Bucky said that Steve was trying to court her. Come on, she was barely anybody. She was the exact opposite of Steve. She was a spy who had lived with secrets and lies her entire life, and fed them to others. He was a soldier who never hid anything from his team and was basically honest to a fault. She always thought in terms of logic on the battlefield; he went with his gut, not counting for any other variables. She loved Indian food, and they had discovered that he hated it with a passion. (Too spicy). This wasn't right, they were too different.

 _ **32 seconds**_

But they both loved Frank Sinatra and Jimmy Durante. They shared a real passion for Italian food, swapping recipes whenever they could. She'd send him her grandmother's famous recipes, and he would write up the recipes he remembered from his mother. They loved to watch old classic movies, because she had a soft spot for them and he wanted to catch up on the pop culture references that Tony and Clint constantly made.

 _ **24 seconds**_

Lord, was she going soft? She should have never applied to work at Stark Industries.

 _ **22 seconds**_

Bucky said that Steve "lurves" her. And if she did too, she would go allow along with his prank. Maria didn't know a thing about love, at least she used to think she did, but that vanished years ago. She was not about to bring those memories back up again.

 _ **15 seconds**_

She decided that she would go along with the prank, only to make sure that Natasha, Clint and Tony did not win the stupid bet. She could only stand Steve winning, because of his noble reasons.

 _ **8 seconds**_

Maria shooed away her thoughts as they approached the floor of Pepper's office. She smoothed down her black skirt and adjusted the navy blue belt that was holding it in place. She hoped her shirt was still tucked in correctly, but had no more time to worry. Her 73 seconds were up.

 _ **0 seconds**_

"Ready for Norman Osborn?" Peeper asked as the doors opened.

"Can anyone really be prepared for that man?" Maria asked sarcastically, as she stepped out of the elevator beside Pepper.

"I wonder if he's still after Steve's blood," Pepper mused, stomping down the hallway to the conference room. Pepper's bodyguard, Happy, trailed after them, though Maria didn't see the receptionist, Emily, who usually greeted them at the elevator.

"Having known him for years, I'm pretty sure he's still after it. Is it not clear to him that we will never hand over Steve, his blood, or any of Erskine's or Howard's journals?"

"Years? You've known him for years?" Pepper asked, and Maria realized her slip. No one was supposed to know that she personally knew Norman Osborn at one point in her life.

"Oh, I just meant SHIELD wise. We tend to keep an eye on billionaires with advanced technology." Maria covered quickly. She thought she had made a great save, and it was confirmed by the placated look on Pepper's face.

"Then as you know, Norman Osborn doesn't like the word "no". Let's see what he has to say," Pepper said, as she opened the door and was greeted by an ugly scene. Emily, the aforementioned receptionist, was standing nose to nose with Norman Osborn, the billionaire.

"Is it impossible for the word "no" to get through your thick headed skull? I thought you were supposed to be some sort of genius. Huh, at least Mr. Stark's an actual genius, not a fake parading around like you!" She said, venomously, the effect being doubled by her thick British accent.

"Emily, I assume you have somewhere else to be?' Pepper stepped in before Norman retorted. The petite, blond receptionist turned to Pepper, her face flushed red with anger, but instantly reverted her voice to a calm, serene tone that definitely wasn't present before.

"Yes, Miss Potts," she said as she walked out of the room. Maria caught Emily's eye and winked; someone should put Norman Osborn in his place, and Maria was glad it was the tiny receptionist. Emily gave her a wide smile back as she exited the conference room.

"Norman," Pepper greeted, "I apologize for that. It will never happen again," She comforted the fuming man. Personally, Maria was hooping that JARVIS had got the entire incident on tape to show it to Tony. Even though Maria and Tony weren't best friends, they shared a mutual hatred toward Osborn.

"Virginia," Norman greeted and Maria could spot the mini scowl Pepper gave Norman. Pepper hated that name, which was why she used her nickname instead, despite its informality. "How lovely to see you again. And-" he stopped short at Maria's face. _Bet you didn't expect to see me_ , Maria thought in her head as she smiled and grasped Osborn's hand that was extended in a handshake.

"Maria Hill, Mr. Osborn. Shall we take a seat then?" she gestured to the chairs, and noticed that Norman had brought lackeys, as if he was threatening them. Maria ground her teeth in frustration as she and Pepper took a seat across from Norman, and Happy stood a ways off, monitoring the situation.

"So what can I do for you, Norman?" Pepper asked. Norman didn't respond right away, he stared at Maria for a moment, and seemed like he wanted to say something. Instead, he took a water bottle that was on the table and sipped before replying. Maria thanked God that he didn't say anything about her.

"You know why I'm here, Virginia. I want the samples of Captain America's blood, the notes on Project Rebirth, and let's throw in Dr. Bruce Banner's notes on the Hulk," Norman stated, putting his bottle down and crossing his arms.

"As I've said before, I'm afraid we can't do that, Norman." Pepper shook her head to emphasize her point. Maria saw Norman's eyes flare with anger, and turn slightly green. She sat up straight, paying more attention to Osborn and his lackeys now. There was a bad feeling in her stomach.

"You and I both know that SHIELD dumped those files a year ago to make sure that the public had access to it. We are the public," Norman gestured to his creepy henchmen. "and we are not leaving without those files."

"Actually," Pepper interrupted, producing papers from the manila folder that Maria had brought her, "Stark Industries has claimed Captain America and both Erskine and Howard's journals as intellectual property. Dr. Banner has also done the same thing for his research," Pepper finished. Maria couldn't help but grin at the shocked look at Osborn's face.

"You-" Osborn started, but Maria cut in; she couldn't really help herself.

"What this means, Mr. Osborn, is that you will never be able to even be in the same room as this research. So, I suggest that that you grab your associates and leave." Maria said, in a low and threatening voice, not unlike the one she had to use when Stark and Barton were being particularly child-like.

"But I need the serum," Osborn pleaded, and Maria raised her eyebrows. She exchanged confused glances with Pepper, because she could have sworn that Norman Osborn had just begged, and that was something he would never do.

"I'm sorry Norman," Pepper said in a gentler tone, "but I cannot give you any of that research." Instantly, Maria knew something was wrong. There was a look in Norman's eyes, as he stood angrily from his chair. It reminded Maria of Loki, a combination of malice and mischief which instantaneously made Maria wary. She stood from her chair with Pepper and she could sense Happy moving closer.

"Fine," he snarled, sounding inhuman now, eerily similar to the voice of the Hulk. "If you won't give it to me, well I'll find another way,". As much as his threat surprised her, it was something else that had captured Maria's interest as Norman Osborn had stalked out of the conference room.

The back of Norman Osborn's neck was green.

:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:

"Did his neck just turn-"

"Yup," Maria cut through Bucky, rubbing her forehead, as she did so. It was about the third time she had answered this question, and frankly it was getting on her nerves. All of the Avengers, including Bucky, had arrived when Maria had sounded the alarm. They stood in front of her still watching the video feed that JARVIS was playing. Finally when it stopped, they all turned to each other confused, though surprisingly Thor seemed unfazed.

"He is no worse than a Jotun,' Thor said to Maria's unspoken question.

"He has anger issues and turns green. Sound like anybody else you know?" Bruce asked sarcastically.

"I don't think he's a version of the Hulk," Maria said.

"Yeah," Tony added, "we would have notices another Hulk in New York City by now."

" If Osborn had presumably turned into the Hulk, he would need Bruce's research to do so. But he came here in search of that and Project Rebirth. He needs something else." Natasha correctly deduced.

"That's not the only way I know that he's not a copy of the Hulk." Maria said. "JARVIS, can you pull up the DNA analysis of Norman Osborn?"

"Yes, Ms. Hill. It will be completed in a moment." JARVIS politely answered.

"When did you get his DNA?" Clint asked. Maria was about to answer before Steve interrupted.

"She took it from the water bottle he drank from," Steve responded, waving toward the screen. Maria felt faintly proud that he noticed, and shot him an appreciative smile.

"Exactly." she confirmed, and he smiled back.

"Ugh, please have your eye-sex elsewhere," Tony groaned. Steve blushed, and Maria was just about to retort, when JARVIS's voice rang through the common room.

"Results are ready, Ms. Hill. I will put them up now," the A.I. said. A light blue hologram popped up, displaying the DNA sequences of Norman Osborn. Bruce and Tony rose together to look at the results.

"Well, there are no signs of the tell tale gamma radiation that would appear in the DNA," Bruce said, after slipping on his glasses.

"But his DNA has been altered. See there, and there," Tony said, pointing at the screen.

"I have no clue how that could happen though. JARVIS, can you see what the mutations in his DNA help him do?" Bruce asked.

"It appears that they increase the intelligence, strength, speed, reflexes, and healing rate of Mr. Norman Osborn., sir" JARVIS answered.

"So, basically everything Capsicle's serum does, but Steve's DNA is way different then Osborn's," Tony observed on the screen.

"How do you even know my DNA?" Steve asked incredulously. Maria sort of wondered the same thing. It wasn't exactly normal for someone, even Tony Stark, to memorize a person's DNA.

"Research to find you a pain killer that would actually work with your metabolism," he brushed away. Steve, Bucky, and the rest of the Avengers looked mildly surprised at that statement, but Maria just shook her head. Of course, Tony was doing something adorably nice that made her kind of tolerate him.

"That is very kind of you, Anthony," Thor said, basically stating everyone's thoughts, even though they would never admit it. Tony ducked his head for a moment, but soon looked back up at the screen as if nothing had happened.

"Well, since the work isn't from Project Rebirth or Bruce, it's gotta be someone else's. Can JARVIS run a scan of medical papers, theses, etc to see whose work is similar to this?" Maria asked.

"You wound me, Commander Hill. JARVIS, do as the lady said," Tony demanded. Maria rolled her eyes but looked at JARVIS's screens. Soon the A.I. came up with a result.

"Professor Mendel Stromm," Maria read off the screen, and realization set in for her. The memories came flooding back, and Maria felt like puking. She knew that name and who this chase was going to lead to.

"Maria?" Steve asked, concern evident on his face. She wished for Steve's famous hugs, that made her feel like everything was going to be okay but that was not an option. She cleared her throat and waved her hands in a placating gesture.

"It's ok, I'm fine. I just made a connection. Whoo, a really big one, actually," she said, as she tried to harness her thoughts which were running at a million miles per second. She rubbed her forehead and paced for a minute trying to go through her memories. She looked at it from every angle, but the first conclusion that came to her head most the most logical sense.

"Norman Osborn is the Green Goblin," she stated, and Tony, Clint, Bruce and Natasha looked at her as if she had grown a second head.

"Pray tell, who is this Green Goblin you speak of?" Thor rumbled, but Maria paid no attention.

"Great, now I have to call him," Maria groaned. The rest of the Avengers looked confused: Tony, Bruce, Clint and Natasha probably because they didn't understand who she had to call, and Thor, Bucky, and Steve because they were still confused as to who the Green Goblin was. She grabbed her phone and started dialing.

"Wait, who are you calling?" Bucky asked. Maria sighed; she knew this would come up eventually.

"My ex-fiance," she replied. She would've laughed at Tony and Steve's shocked faces, and was ready to cry at the betrayed looks on Clint and Natasha's, but instead kept her cool.

"And what does your ex-fiance have to do with this mess?" Tony questioned. Maria didn't hesitate.

"He's Spider-Man."

* * *

 **OMG Spider-Man is Maria's ex finace whaaaatttt? Ok so for the purpose of this fic I've made them both the same age. I think you'll get their history in the next couple of chapters.**

 **I Know I've made a bunch of changes and I'm sorry about that, but I kinda wanted a more substantial plot than just that bet ya know?**

 **Hit me up with reviews! Maybe a favorite or two? :D**

 **RussianAssassin:** Lol I love how excited you are with this fic! That's like me every time I read a book or watch a show

 **Spitfire303:** Ohhh I love fantastic damn's :) I can imagine Maria freaking out, like I hope this fic gives me a chance to do that. I've added more tension now, do you like it or think I'm crazy? :)

 **Qweb:** I've added more plots and plans, are you happy? :D

 **Amy Hamato:** Thank you! Sorry it's taken me so long to update :(

 **Jhessill:** You're like me for every fic i read :) I'm so glad you like my story!


	5. The Return of the Dead

**A/N: Hello my wonderful buttercups! (Is that weird?) Anyway, I know some of you are eagerly awaiting this chapter, just cuz of that bomb in the last chapter, weird right? Anyhoo, Maria and Spider-man's history are only sort of touched on in this chapter, I'm not giving you everything now :D**

 **As usual, suggestions and reviews are highly welcome and responses to reviews are at the bottom :)**

 **By the way, I'd like to thank all of the people who took the time to review, follow, or favorite this story! You guys really motivate me to do better and I really appreciate that :D I didn't expect this story to get any attention, but y'all proved me wrong, so thank you!**

 **Anyway, I hope you like this new chapter!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own any MARVEL characters unfortunately. It's sad, I know.**

 **CHAPTER FIVE: The Return of the Dead**

* * *

Tony could actually feel his mind shutting down at those words because he just couldn't comprehend them. Maria had been engaged to Spider-Man? His eyes quickly landed on Clint and Natasha, hoping they would have some kind of answer, but the two assassins looked as bewildered as himself.

He watched as Maria finished speaking into the phone, and slid it into her back pocket. She was looking tenser than he had ever seen her. Tenser than during the last Stark Gala she was forced to attend by Pepper. He glanced sideways at Steve who looked shocked at the news of Maria's ex-fiance. Oh no, his ship was falling apart!

"Ok wait, despite being a genius, I didn't understand a thing that just happened right now," Tony said. Bucky nodded in agreement.

"I think the first question that my teammates shall answer is who is Spider-Man and the Green Goblin," Thor demanded.

"Spiderman is this superhero that appeared in New York, around 2008. He has certain powers of a spider, like he is able to shoot webs and crawl across walls," Natasha answered.

"And the Green Goblin was a villain that appeared in 2014. He basically has powers like Steve, enhanced strength, intelligence, and so on., except that he's green and creepy looking. He flies around this hoverboard." Clint supplied.

"So why have we not met this foe in battle?" Thor asked.

"Because at that time SHIELD had more pressing problems, like how it was infiltrated by Hydra," Maria answered.

"Ok, so how in the world were you ever engaged to the Spider-Man?" Tony asked, believing that this was really the crux of the matter. Maria rolled her eyes.

"I dated him in 2004; we were both 22 and going to SHIELD Academy. I was there to become an agent, and he was there to hone his skills to become an effective vigilante. We got engaged in 2008, and he took up the title of Spider-Man. Shortly after, we broke up," Maria said, not offering up any more information. Tony glanced suspiciously at her but didn't try to push it. If Maria hadn't even told Clint and Natasha about the brief engagement, then something probably went really sour.

"Ok, now how do you know that Osborn's the Green Goblin? I mean, even Spider-Man doesn't know who the Green Goblin is," Bruce asked getting around to the final question Tony wanted an answer to.

"In 2014, Professor Stromm was murdered after there were reports that he had created a super serum of his own. At the time, we sent one of our agents to investigate because there was evidence that a contaminant had been spread, aka his superserum. A couple of days later, the Green Goblin emerged from nowhere. We knew then that the contaminant must have been exposed to the Goblin, but we never figured out his civilian identity. Plus, we couldn't investigate further because that's when hell broke loose and SHIELD fell." Maria answered.

"But now you know that it's Osborn because you matched the mutations in Osborn's body to Stromm's work!" Clint concluded excitedly.

"Exactly," Maria confirmed.

"And so now we wait for your ex-fiance?" Tony asked, still not understanding how Maria and Spider-Man had ever got together. Maria scowled at him and Tony realized that he probably shouldn't have referred to Spider-Man as her ex-fiance. Hey, just because Tony was a genius doesn't mean he knew how to be sensitive. In fact, people skills always seemed a little out of reach for him.

Maria turned on her heel and stomped out of the room.

"Call me when he gets here, JARViS," she said, as she retreated, and Tony's apology died in his throat. He turned toward the Captain, who was staring at her figure with an expression of betrayal not unlike Clint and Natasha's.

"Go after her, Cap," Tony said. Reluctantly, the Captain rose from his seat, looking like the last thing he wanted to do was to talk to Maria, but Tony resolutely stared him down. He was not allowing his ship being destroyed because of some lame spider. (Actually, Tony thought Spider-Man was pretty cool, but he wasn't going to admit that now). The Captain heaved in annoyance as he left the room following Maria.

Tony turned on the two twin assassins ready to interrogate them to the last detail, to see if maybe Maria had once let a detail slip. But before he could say a word, Natasha put up her hands defensively.

"Don't look at us. All we knew was that she was assigned to New York, right out of the Academy."

"I can't believe she was dating Spider-Man!" Clint said, awestruck, like a little kid.

"If it were not for Lady Maria's deep rooted antipathy toward him, I would have suggested adding him to our team." Thor rumbled.

"Now we know why SHIELD never recruited him to Avengers Initiative. It seems like Maria really hates him. Like really, really hates him,' Bruce added.

"So how do we get Steve and Maria together if her ex-fiance pops out of nowhere? Will the The Bet work?" Bucky asked.

"Oh we're shipping Lady Maria and the Captain?" Thor asked, looking incredibly pleased at his use of modern terminology. Tony really shouldn't have taught him that word. Instead, he glared at Bucky because telling Thor of their plan would mean that the entire tower, including Stark Industries employees, would know about it in a matter of minutes. Oh well, other people that were not supposed to know about the plan had figured it out. It couldn't hurt to tell Bruce and Thor.

"I suppose I blabbed to Pepper so we might as well tell Point Break and Green." Tony said. Bruce looked up sheepishly and Tony knew immediately that Natasha had told him.

"I thought you didn't want to know!" Tony exclaimed. Bruce rubbed the back of his neck, slightly grinning.

"Ever heard of the saying, curiosity killed the cat? He asked me so many times after that I just had to tell him,' Natasha said.

"Fine, is there anyone else who knows, so I'm not blind sided by all this betrayal?" Tony exaggerated. The room didn't move until Barton slowly raised his hand like six year old admitting to stealing a cookie from the cookie jar.

"I had to tell Laura, but the kids eavesdropped so they know too," Clint explained, as Bucky stifled his laughter.

"Y'all suck. At least, don't tell anyone else guys, especially the ex-fiance," Tony concluded.

"Which brings us right back to the problem, Spider-Man. I mean what if she has residual feelings for him or something?" Clint asked.

"Did you see all that hate? I think we can safely rule that out," Bruce countered.

"Not so," Thor frowned. "In Sweet Home Alabama, Melanie still ended up having feelings for her estranged husband even after seven years." Tony slowly spun to face the Asgardian prince.

"Did you just reference a Reese Witherspoon chick flick? I mean you know this, but you don't know the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek?" Tony exclaimed, annoyed by the lack of priority.

"I think the more important question is, how does Tony Stark know this movie?" Bucky asked.

"Doesn't seem to go with the whole Black Sabbath theme you have going on there," Clint noted.

"It was for Pepper-" Tony was cut short by a red headed assassin.

"For Pepper, or forced by Pepper?" Natasha questioned, smirking.

"Is the distinction really necessary?" Tony whined.

"Yes, because we want to hear you say it," Bruce answered, grinning.

"Et tu, Bruce? Ok, it was Pepper's birthday and I was forced by Pepper to watch a bunch of chick flicks so now I am intimately familiar with the plots of Sweet Home Alabama, 27 Dresses and others that I'm not admitting." Tony stated.

"Excellent choices, Anthony," Thor praised.

"You watched the The Notebook and The Titanic didn't you?" Bruce asked.

"I can neither confirm nor deny those accusations.'

"Oh my god, you cried didn't you?" Clint asked.

"Back to our original problem, Spider-Man-"

"Brother Anthony, it is ok to admit hat you had shed tears at the lovely courtship of Noah and Allie or the death of Jack," Thor comforted. Tony looked at the faces of the Avengers and wondered why he had ever decided to allow them into his home.

"Might I remind you all that you live here for free and I gratuitously provide amenities and food? It's not easy to feed all of you, I lose like a thousand dollars a day. Now back to our main problem, my ship, Captain Hill, is about to sink by an iceberg-I mean, a spider!" Tony quickly corrected.

"Captain HIll?" Bucky questioned, smirking.

"Iceberg?" Bruce asked.

"Didn't watch The Titanic, huh?" Clint added.

"Shut up, or I will taze you until you lay drooling on the floo-" Tony stopped midway, remembering how he had once been threatened this way by a certain SHIELD agent.

"Did he just become speechless?" Bucky asked.

"Is that possible?" Natasha chipped in.

"It could be Loki's magic…" Thor suggested.

"Brain freeze?" Clint put in.

"No, I have seen that look before. That's his I've got an idea face."

"Is it usually that creepy?" Natasha asked, pressing into Bruce's side.

"Yup, now we just decide whether to run away or listen," Bruce answered.

"Follow me, minions! I have an idea!" Tony exclaimed, as he stalked out of the living room and descended into his workshop.

"Anyone up to dying?" Bruce asked dryly as he rose from the couch.

"Well, it has been a slow day," Bucky replied as he followed the eccentric genius into his workshop.

"When has it ever been a slow day on Midgard?" Thor asked, walking in front of Clint, Bruce and Natasha.

"Now you're getting it, Thor."

:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:

Tony was typing as fast as he could on his computer, simultaneously hacking and commanding JARVIS. He could hear the rest of the Avengers finally descending into the workshop, but didn't address them to keep up an element of surprise. He couldn't help himself; he had a flair for the dramatics.

"Come on JARVIS, pull up the files on The Bus," Tony commanded, on his computer. "Start tracking them now, so I can hack the communications."

"They are now located in California, sir," JARVIS answered.

"Excellent, let's get cracking. Break the firewalls and call for assistance when you need it," Tony said, as he spun in his chair as his fellow Avengers came to a stop.

"Took you long enough," he snorted.

"Wanna tell us why you ran in here like a kid on a sugar high?" Bucky asked.

"Because, my formerly indoctrinated soldier, I know how to figure out Maria's past." Tony answered.

"How? Even Natasha and I didn't know about this," Clint answered.

"Well, there's another person who might, who I've never mentioned to you. Please don't kill me for it because I've only known about it for like two weeks," Tony said.

"Just explain first, Tony," Bruce cut in, slightly irritated.

"Whoa, cool your jets, honey. No reason to let out the rage monster yet." Tony said, as he turned to grab a hologram floating by him "Remember the little robot we were fighting about two months ago?"

"You mean Ultron, right?" Clint asked with a snort. "The one you created to protect this world but almost ended up destroying it?"

"Boy, how many times does a person have to apologize! You guys can keep a grudge!"

"Can I punch him?" Clint asked.

"Later," Bucky promised. "Continue, jackass."

"No love," Tony muttered. "Anyway, remember how Maria and Fury showed up out of nowhere with the Helicarrier? LIke how in hell could Maria hide one? Impossible, right? And Fury was supposed to be dead, so he can't be hanging around with a flying submarine. That would defeat the entire purpose of staying off the grid."

"What does it matter?" Thor asked.

"Ah, you asked the best question of the night, Point Break. It matters because who fixed up that Helicarrier? Lord knows, the Hulk destroyed a lot of it and Steve and I barely fixed the engine. So how was it in perfect, working condition ready to save the poor civilians of Sokovia?" Tony looked at his audience who finally seemed captivated by his words.

"Could you get to the point?" Natasha asked.

"Patience, my grasshopper. So I did some digging and found this in the SHIELD dump." He hesitated to expand the hologram that was clasped in his fist. "I'd like to make it clear that I've only known about this for two weeks-"

"Yes, yes, now tell us!" Natasha snapped. Tony went ahead and finally enlarged the hologram.

"Meet Theta Protocol. Run by twin brothers, Sam and Billy Koenig. And their commanding officer was-" Tony was cut short by his A.I..

"Sir, I appear to have run into some resistance while hacking the Bus's communications." Tony groaned internally at the disruption of his big reveal.

"One second, my audience members." He jumped onto his chair and felt everyone crowding around him, but his eyes were finely tuned to the programming on the computer. He couldn't help but let out a gasp of surprise. Someone was counter hacking JARVIS, trying to prevent him from getting into the systems.

"Hey, this hacker is good, J." Tony murmured.

"Observe: the first compliment Tony has ever given," Bruce remarked.

"But not as good as us, J" Tony added, and Bruce rolled his eyes. "Ok, three, two, one!" Tony

clicked a last key, and the first image that popped on the screen was of a young girl, with short dark brown hair, staring intently at her computer screen.

"Hello there, sunshine," Tony said. "Smile, you're on camera." The young girl popped up and her mouth rounded in surprise.

"Crap." she cursed.

"No, not crap. The Avengers plus The Winter Soldier here." Tony replied.

"What happened Daisy?" an Scottish accented voice inquired, and a young man appeared on the screen before he began to curse.

"Frack. This is not good. He is going to kill us." he stuttered out.

"Shut up, Fitz. You're not helping."

"Is that Dr. Banner?" another voice queried, tainted with a British accent, before another face appeared on the screen. Her short, chocolate brown hair covered Daisy's face.

"Dr. Banner! Oh, I am a huge fan of your work!" Bruce adjusted his glasses and seemed a little surprised.

"Thank you. And you are?" Bruce asked confusedly.

"Simmons. Dr. Jemma Simmons. And this is Daisy Johnson and Leopold Fitz. Oh and Fitz loves your work, Mr. Stark," Jemma finished.

"Who doesn't?" Tony replied. But before he could say another word, another voice was heard on the screen.

"Mr. Stark?" a female's voice asked, and stern woman's face appeared on the screen. Her eyes widened but she didn't voice her surprise.

"Melinda?" Natasha asked.

"What is The Cavalry doing there?" Clint questioned.

"Oh, he's not going to like this," Melinda muttered.

"Who is this "he"?' Thor asked.

"Daisy, FitzSimmons, May, who are you skyping?" a familiar voice asked. Though Tony had learned two weeks ago that he hadn't died, something still stirred in his stomach as he heard that snarky voice. Apparently, he wasn't the only one, as every Avenger froze, as well all the people from the video chat. A man with a receding hairline appeared on the screen, and Tony could read his shock on his familiar features.

"Avengers, may I present to you the commanding officer of Theta Protocol, Director Phil Coulson," Tony introduced, remembering what he had read off the Theta Protocol files, about two weeks ago.

"Fuck," Coulson muttered, and the room erupted into chaos.

* * *

 **Thoughts? Ideas? Are ya ready to throw a shoe at me? Do you want to favorite this story a gazillion times? I gotta know people! :)**

 **:** Thank you so much! Hope you enjoy the next part too!

 **GabycatStark13:** I know! So weird right :D I never planned Spider-man though so I'm just as surprised as you are.

 **Qweb:** I love adding a lot of plots, though I gotta admit, I hope I wrap them up well! Yes, I do plan to have him as a grad student! Its like you read my mind. Thanks for that DNA thing, can I admit and say that I picked that up from all the cop shows that I watch? I love when you review! You always make me feel batter about the story. Thanks :)

 **Black' Victor Cachat:** I love how excited you are as read through! Hope you like this chapter too! I appreciate your curiosity!

 **Sabina Mohammad:** Thank you for the compliment!

 **Thesamemistakes:** I am also eager to write Maria and Spidey's relationship! Though it wont happen until chapter 8, I think? Sorry :)

 **Guest:** Awww thanks!


	6. The Ever Wise AI

**A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry it took me a long time to update, as I was trying to get ahead in writing this, so I hope you'll be happy to know that I have finished Chapter 7 and half of like Chapter 8 (that's where you get a flashback!)**

 **I've actually upped the rating for this fic because I've realized that I'e been using some swear words here and probably should reflect that in my rating. K+ sound good?**

 **As always, reviews would be really appreciated. Give me your constructive thoughts on this fic!**

 **Thank you for the reviews, favorites and follows. Responses to Reviews are at the bottom :)**

 **DISCLAIMER:** Don't own any of these Marvel characters, and it hurts my soul.

 **And without further ado, I present to you...**

 **CHAPTER SIX: The Ever Wise AI**

* * *

If Steve had really tried, he probably would have been able to catch up to Maria as she slipped into the elevator. Alas, he didn't, and he watched as the elevator climbed out of reach. He knew where she was heading, so that wasn't a concern. However, he had spotted her wiping her eyes, which meant he needed to find some hot chocolate fast.

See, no matter what, hot chocolate was the solution to all problems, or at least that was what Maria Hill preached. Steve found himself being taken by the practice too, as alcohol and coffee didn't have the same effect on him anymore. Maria had noticed and whenever he had come back from a particularly hard mission, there would always be a steaming cup of hot chocolate waiting for him in his room. It was only time that he returned the favor, no matter how betrayed he felt.

"JARVIS," Steve called, as he reached the kitchen, "Could you make me two cups of hot chocolate?"

"Certainly, sir. Just place two cups under the coffee machine, and I will take care of the rest," the AI replied.

Dutifully, Steve located the cups and slid the two under the machine. Then, he leaned back on the counter as he stared at the coffee machine that was whirring to life. He finally let the collection of information that was floating in his head to be released.

First things first, they had a new villain in town, the Green Goblin. Technically, the Goblin had been around for a year now, if Steve's calculations were correct. Nevertheless, he was on the Avenger's radar now so that was that.

Steve wasn't actually disappointed with this development. Though it had only been two months since they had defeated Ultron, Steve was itching for some combat. Pounding the punching bag and sparring with his teammates was not action-y enough. The thrill of battle was something that had been elusive to him for a long time now, and to be frank he was really happy that the Green Goblin was around. That being said, he wasn't happy about what the Green Goblin was bringing with him: Maria's ex fiancé, Spider-Man.

A familiar sensation of betrayal slithered up his throat, and made him want to choke. The last time he had ever felt this way was when realized that Pierce and Sitwell were Hydra agents. Now, it was because of Maria.

Steve had told Maria everything about himself, even all the classified stuff that was embedded deep within the redacted sections of his files. How he'd been chosen for Project Rebirth, how he met Peggy, and how he'd defeated the Red Skull. He didn't leave out a detail from his mother's birth date to Colonel Phillips's favorite color, including that embarrassing USO tour. In return, Steve thought she had told him everything too, though it had taken quite some time. Eventually, Steve learned about the quiet origins of Maria Hill, the not so excellent childhood, and why she joined SHIELD. She had even told him how Coulson was still alive and well, and heading up SHIELD now.

This stung—the fact that she hadn't trusted him enough to tell him about Spider-Man. Steve could feel his trust cracking with Maria. Really, he should have expected this; once a spy, always a spy.

The shrill of the coffee machine disrupted Steve from his angry musings. He was glad for it anyway because his thoughts were about to foray into dark places. Steve quickly grabbed the cups and made his way to the elevator, even though he still wanted time to himself.

"Take me to the roof, JARVIS." Steve said, tone clipped.

"Of course, sir." JARVIS said, and the elevator ascended. Steve watched as the numbers increased on the display. The closer he got to Maria, the faster his heart was beating. He didn't feel like talking to Maria and frankly wanted to avoid the confrontation; he was only going because Tony pushed him to. Just as the numbers flicked to the word roof, the elevator froze and the lights flickered.

"JARVIS, why did the elevator-"

"My apologies, sir, it was me. I noticed that your heart rate was fluctuating and I was concerned about your well-being," JARVIS answered. "Is there something wrong, sir?"

"No, JARVIS, nothing is wrong," Steve automatically replied.

"Sir, I do not find it wise to lie to the AI that is currently controlling your elevator right now." Steve had to agree with that but that it didn't mean that he was going to give up easily.

"I'm telling you JARV-"

"Before you attempt to lie again sir, let me remind you that you will never be able to leave the elevator, even if Mr. Stark demanded me to release you. Now though this is not conventional, I assure you that I am an excellent listener. So, sir, what is troubling you?" JARVIS questioned, sounding quite persistent and firm.

Steve felt like he was being backed into a corner, or in this case an elevator. It did not help his angry mood at all, but it was obvious now that he had no other option but to disclose his feelings to the AI. However, it seemed that JARVIS was impatient for his reveal.

"Is it because Miss Hill's ex fiancé is swinging by?" JARVIS asked dryly, and Steve couldn't help but roll his eyes. Were his feelings evident even to a machine that couldn't even see?

"Yes, it's related to that."

"No, sir I think it's mostly that." At Steve's pause, JARVIS continued. "You feel betrayed as Miss. Hill had not told you about her ex-fiance, and this is complicated by Mr. Stark's ridiculous bet, the arrival of the Green Goblin, and your own affections for her. Have I explained the situation accurately enough sir?

If it was possible, Steve would have walked away at this point because hearing his predicament aloud seemed to make him feel worse.

"Yes, JARVIS, you've described it perfectly," Steve muttered bitterly.

"Hmm," the AI pondered thoughtfully, "That is quite a handful indeed, but if I was able to aid Mr. Stark with Miss Potts, I'm sure I would be able to help you."

"Really?"

"In addition to controlling this tower, I am also a part time therapist apparently. The members of this team seem incapable of talking to actual human beings, and well they turn to me for help. I'm only offering my services because you're the only person that hasn't used them yet."

"Oh," was all Steve could faintly say in response; his mind was kind of focused on wondering whether Maria had told JARVIS about Spider-Man. Well, JARVIS had said that the entire team has turned to him at one point or another. He quickly ruled it out in his head because if she hadn't told Clint and Natasha about Spider-Man, she probably wouldn't have revealed it to the AI. Reluctantly, Steve realized that he was being petty, something that Captain America wouldn't be, but something Steve Rogers was certainly capable of.

"What did I do wrong, JARVIS?" Steve asked tiredly as all of his anger suddenly converted to resignation. He settled on the floor of the elevator as it was evident to him that this conversation was going to take a while.

"I don't think you have done anything wrong, sir."

"Then why wouldn't she tell me about this? I told her everything about myself and I thought that she would trust me enough to at least do the same. Seems as if she doesn't."

"Miss Hill may have her own reasons for choosing not to disclose this to you. This doesn't mean you are not trustworthy."

"Of course it means she doesn't trust me! What else could it possibly mean?" Steve asked. The AI didn't answer right away, and Steve took that silence as an affirmation that he was correct. That is, until, the AI suddenly asked him a question.

"Has Mr. Stark revealed the full account of his Afghanistan kidnapping to you, Captain?"

"No," Steve confusedly answered.

"Does that mean Mr. Stark does not trust you at all?"

"That's different," Steve protested, but the AI paid him no attention.

"Has Master Barton ever told you about his childhood in the circus? Did Miss Romanoff ever explain the Red Room to you? Has Thor revealed the reason why he was cast out of Asgard? Has Dr. Banner ever sat down with you to discuss why he decided to create a replica of your super serum?" At Steve's silence, JARVIS continued.

"'No, sir, they have not revealed these things to you, but that doesn't mean they do not trust you. It's just that those memories bring up to much pain to handle, and it is easier to hide them away in the shadows, then let them see the light of day. I would assume Miss Hill went with the easier path." JARVIS finished, and Steve didn't respond for a moment.

"Do you really think so, JARVIS?" Steve asked, feeling more like a little kid by the moment.

"Yes, sir. You have not done anything wrong and you are absolutely trustworthy. You have not ruined your chances at courting Miss Hill. So I suggest that you wrap up your own self pity session and go aid Miss Hill. She is understandably distraught."

"Are you sure that Tony didn't program that snark into you?" Steve asked as he rose from the floor and the elevator doors slid open.

"Yes, sir. Unfortunately, it was a product of my environment." Steve stifled a laugh as he climbed onto the roof. Talking to JARVIS had actually given him a sense of peace. Now it was time to see if he could do that for Maria as well.

:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:

Maria heard Steve before she saw his large frame taking the seat next to her. She had expected his arrival, but quite earlier. After making himself as comfortable as he could in the small wooden lawn chair, he wordlessly handed her a cup of hot chocolate, which she gratefully accepted.

"That's a nice sunset," Steve said, as he sipped his cocoa and kept his eyes trained on the horizon. Maria couldn't help but let out a snort.

"That's all you have to say?" Maria asked incredulously, turning to look at him. She'd sorta expected an interrogation, considering that she hadn't told him about Spider-Man and he had told her everything about himself.

"Depends on if you want to say anything?" Steve asked, his baby blue eyes landing on her. The betrayal that Maria had seen in the Avengers common room had somehow been replaced with clarity, but she didn't ask about it. Instead, she carefully refocused her eyes on the setting sun.

"Have nothing to say." Maria said. Steve exhaled, as if he wasn't surprised at all, but rather pleased, as if something had been proved to him.

"So I guess we wait until you let your memories escape from the shadows."

"Huh?"

"A wise man just told me that the people in this tower are likely to hide away memories than experience the pain they bring," Steve stopped and turned to look at her. "So I won't push you about about Spider-Man."

"Thank you," Maria said sincerely, even though she was a little surprised at the consideration. She knew that if Clint and Natasha were up here instead, they would've interrogated the living hell out of her. She felt her heart warm a little and beat a little faster; it was probably due to the gratitude.

"But.." Steve started, and Maria felt her stomach drop, because no good phrase had ever started with the word 'but', "I would like to kindly remind you that there are others willing to share the burden with you. You just have to give them a chance," he finished, returning back to his hot chocolate and the wonderful view.

 _Oh no_ , Maria thought, Steve's speech was perfect, completely endearing, and didn't push any boundaries. She could only assume that his charm was a product from his 40's era. Now she was going to feel bad if she didn't tell him.

There was actually a legitimate reason for Maria not disclosing this part of her life to anyone else, expect Coulson of course. The end of her relationship with Spider-Man was probably what had made Maria Hill, the slightly reticent rookie agent fresh out of SHIELD Academy, to Maria Hill, the Ice Queen deputy director of SHIELD. Needless to say, the end of that relationship had hit Maria hard.

Reliving her memories from that experience would only serve to make her feel weak and vulnerable. Emotions like pain and nostalgia tended to do that. But she also supposed that Steve was right, that sharing the burden would lift the weight off her shoulders and let her finally breathe, just by releasing everything that she was hiding in the shadows.

Plus, if would probably better if Maria had told him everything so Steve didn't have to hear it from Spider-Man. She should give him that at least.

Then her only problem now was figuring out how to shoo away her shadows because they had been haunting her for a long time, and she had learned to live with them. As relieving as it sounded to let it all go, she was afraid of what might happen. Would Steve think any less of her because of her complete inability to talk about one relationship that happened eight years ago?

Maria took a sip of her now cold hot chocolate to soothe her dry throat, and also for some kind of strength. For strong emotional stuff like this, Maria would usually replace her standard hot chocolate with liquor, but that wasn't an option right now.

"What if giving them a chance makes me seem weak?" she blurted out. The only way this was going to happen was if got some kind of reassurance, which was really out of character for Maria Hill because really the last word that would ever be used to describe her would be insecure.

She watched as Steve gaped, probably not expecting her to actually respond to anything he had said, but to his credit, he quickly composed himself.

"When has Maria Hill ever been anything but strong?" he asked out of exasperation, as if he couldn't possibly fathom a world where that wasn't possible. The confusion on his face powered her more than the liquor she had been craving a couple minutes ago.

"Fine, I'll tell you about Peter, well, Spider-Man," she huffed out, as if she was mad. Steve didn't say anything, just smiled a "shit-eating" grin, as Tony would say. He reached over and took the mug out of her hand, and placed it on the cement floor. Then, he rose from his own seat, took his chair and placed right in front of Maria. For some reason, the closeness bothered Maria more than usual. She had never felt this way when they went out on those lunches.

"Whenever you're ready," Steve said. Maria let out a breath to relax herself, and hung to those baby blue eyes. They would be her anchors as she traveled through the shadows.

"Well, here goes."

* * *

 **You know me, I love your reviews. they are like food for my soul. So write one real quick, please? Pretty please? *puppy dog face* tell me about the rating too, cuz I really don't know what I'm doing with that. It would also be pretty rad to get a favorite or two :D**

 **NEXT CHAPTER:** A little confrontation with Coulson and quick check in with our villain!

 **GabycatStark13:** Yes we can totally talk about Tony the fangirl! I know he might seem a little OOC but I need someone to express my fangirl tendencies with. I know, I love Thor and Clint too! You've probably read it by now, but obviously Steve reacted more to the I-loved-Peter situation a little bit more, as Maria told him about Coulson (not willingly of course). I hope you liked this chapter.

 **Spitfire303:** Personally, I feel like an idiot that i messed up Fitz's accent. Thanks a bunch for pointing that out for me! I'm glad you like the Spider man twist-I had fun writing it, and i'm gladly taking that compliment that i'm evil :D hope you liked this chapter!

 **Qweb:** Thanks for pointing out that Fitz was Scottish! Gosh, I always get mixed up with those two. Glad you liked the Tony thing- I feel like all the superheros would feel that way after Ultron, ya know? That's so cool, I didn't realize that Friday had an Irish accent! Anyway, hope you like this chapter!

 **Amy Hamato:** I hope you end up hugging me? :D I ended up playing it like Coulson was a dear friend/father figure so I hope you liked that-you'll end up seeing that in the next chapter so I hope you like that

 **RussianAssassin:** I FEEEEEL- I LOVE COULSON TOOOO :D Thanks for the compliment about the bus scene. You'll get more Coulson next chapter so I hope you like that.

 **Min:** Thank you- yeah i kinda write in a totally weird way :) I think this is the first time you've reviewed for me and i hope you continue to so! Are you happy with Maria and Steve's conversation?

 **Thesamemistakes:** I'm really glad that you like the story - you'll get to know the reason in chapter 8 - which is going to be super long i feel like


	7. The Coulson Confrontation

**A/N: Hello! I'm back with a new chapter! Hope you're excited for it!**

 **I feel like this chapter was a little rushed, but you tell me.**

 **As always, I would love to get some reviews from you guys, because they motivate me to keep writing this story.**

 **Thanks to those who have followed, reviewed, or favorited this story-You da real MVP! :D**

 **Responses** **to reviews are at the bottom :)**

 **DISCLAIMER:** I don't own any of the characters except Anita Stromm and George Masters (you'll meet them later :D)

 **CHAPTER SEVEN: The Coulson Confrontation (like that alliteration? eehh?)**

* * *

The Avengers stared at the familiar face with varying degrees of hurt and betrayal.

"Son of Coul, you are still alive?" Thor asked, bewildered.

"Wait, aren't you the one that was murdered by Loki?" Bucky questioned, since he had been caught up with the adventures of the Avengers after he had been rehabilitated.

"I am going to kill you, Phil!" Clint yelled at the screen, the loudest reaction of them all. Natasha looked like she was ready to crack the glass screen that Coulson's face was on. Bruce looked simply confused and awed.

Tony didn't know how to react. Though he had known that Coulson was alive for about two weeks now, he had never been able to tell his team. He didn't want to open those wounds again, after four years. He remembered the guilt that Steve carried, and how Pepper herself cried when she had heard of his death. Tony thought he was prepared to see Coulson, but actually witnessing his face on the screen just made him think of the bloody trading cards that Nick Fury had thrown in front of them. He could only imagine how difficult it was for Clint and Natasha, who had known Coulson the longest.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions," Coulson yelled, shutting them all down, "but I have one of my own." He paused and turned to Tony. "How'd you find me Stark?" Coulson asked, not seeming amused at all.

"It was all your childhood hero's fault really," Tony answered, and continued at the sight of Coulson's raised eyebrow. "Cap makes his junior Avengers watch footage of us during battles to quiz them on what we could have done better. Then he started to do the same thing with us about a month ago. Two weeks in, we got to the Battle of Sokovia, and something was nagging me."

"The whole Helicarrier thing, yeah we got it," Bucky said.

"Yeah, so I looked through the SHIELD dump, found the locked Theta Protocol file under a lot of dummy files, hacked it and found your name." Tony finished. A silence descended on the group that was only interrupted by Clint's angry pacing, as he refused to see Coulson on the screen. Coulson looked worriedly at him and then his eyes shifted to Natasha, who quickly looked away. Tony watched as Coulson let out of a sigh, and turned his eyes back onto Tony. Tony could only give him a shrug in response; Coulson was going to have to placate the two assassins without his help.

"How are you still alive?" Clint shouted at the screen finally halting his pacing, breaking the tense silence. Thank god, it was driving Tony crazy.

"Was it Project TAHITI?" Natasha asked quietly. Coulson let out a deep sigh and jumped into an explanation, at the confused faces.

"Yeah. Fury designed a project that would revive an Avenger that had fallen in battle. Luckily, none of you died in the Battle of New York, except me of course so Fury decided to use it with me. It worked, with a load of side effects, cuz you know alien drugs and all, but now I'm perfectly all right and also the Director of SHIELD." Coulson's explanation was met with a stunned reaction. At least Tony knew the Director part, but he couldn't fathom the way Coulson was brought back to life.

"Alien drugs?" Bruce asked.

"I'd rather not get into that," Coulson muttered.

"And you didn't think to pick up a cellphone and send a text?" Natasha growled, her green eyes blazing. The last time Tony had seen that look, he had to pay reporters for the damage that she had wrought on all their equipment. Needless to say, their nosy questions were about the Hulk.

"The whole being the Director of SHIELD thing makes that pretty hard. I'm more classified than what happens in the FBI and CBI combined. Throw a little White House, while you're at it." Coulson replied. Natasha didn't look satisfied with his explanation and her eyes quickly returned to the floor.

"Nothing was supposed to be classified among family , Phil," Clint said, in a soft voice, with another betrayed look on his face. Coulson hung his head for a bit, then faced the screen, a hardened look crossing his features.

"You needed to work together, you needed that push, so I became the sacrifice. If there's was one thing, I regret about this, it's not being able to tell you guys. But that doesn't mean that I wouldn't do it again."

Natasha crossed her arms, and narrowed her eyes. "Wait, so that means other people knew you were alive? You just didn't tell us?"

Coulson sighed. "Maria knew about it. She was under direct orders from me not to tell you." Clint flew into a rage, and threw his arms up in exasperation.

"First Spider-Man, now this? It's like you two don't even trust us!" Tony couldn't help but agree with that statement.

Clarity came across Coulson's face, and he turned to Tony. "So that's why you contacted me? You wanted to know about Spider-Man?"

"Basically,' Tony replied, and debriefed Agent about Norman Osborn and how the Avengers believed that he was the Green Goblin.

"Which was when Maria revealed that Spider-man was her ex-fiance," Clint finished darkly, crossing his arms. "And didn't even have the courtesy to tell us."

"Look," Coulson began angrily, something that Tony never quite witnessed the usually stoic man being, "you have a reason to be angry with me, because really there was nothing preventing me from telling you that I was alive. But Maria's situation was different- her history with Spider-Man was Level 7 classified intelligence, and could only be revealed by the director of SHIELD."

"Why was that kept classified?" Bruce asked confusedly, and before Tony could answer, Bucky beat him to it.

"It would make her a potential target for Spider-Man's enemies."

"Exactly," Coulson said before turning his gaze on the two twin assassins, "Why is why she

wasn't able to tell you two about it." A softened expression came over Clint's face, but Natasha's looked as hard as ever.

"That doesn't leave you off the hook," Natasha practically growled out. Coulson looked like he was searching for something on his side. They heard a click of a pen and some scribbling. Finally, Coulson held up a post-it note that read _I O U_ _dinner at Dugan's_. Tony swiveled to see Natasha's face, because at this point Tony would have caved. As rich as he was, Tony was a sucker for free food, but Natasha was stone faced as ever.

"Only if you tell us how you survived and about Spider-man," she counter offered. Coulson's face immediately crumpled; Tony guessed that he didn't want to have to betray Maria's history without her permission, and didn't want to relive the circumstances of his own revival. Apparently Bruce had caught on too, and he gently leaned toward Natasha and whispered something in her ear.

At that moment, Tony wished that somebody had a camera so that he could capture the confused expression plastered on Coulson's face, because it brought him to tears that he so valiantly tried to hide. Obviously, no one had informed Coulson of #Brutasha, Tony's first successful ship that he had gotten together. It was a crime really, but Tony was glad for it just for that split second expression. He caught Clint's eye, who also seemed to be hiding his laughs.

"Okay, fine," Natasha began again, and before she could see Coulson's expression, he had quickly wiped it off. "You only have to tell us about Maria's past with Spider-man." Coulon looked like he was about to protest but Tony spoke quickly.

"Hey Bruce, don't you think it would be nice to know Maria's history so we can set her up with Captain America?" Bruce looked confused, but Clint quickly caught on.

"Yeah we could finally get them together and the Captain would practically be family."

"Son of Coul would probably even get his trading cards signed," Thor added.

"You guys are pure evil, you cannot use Captain America as a bargaining chip!" Coulson replied.

"Face it, Coulson. If we're going against the Green Goblin, we need to know if we can trust Spider-man, and Maria's hesitation to talk about him firmly puts me on the other side." Tony paused, seeing that Coulson was about to break, but he needed to sweeten the deal. "Plus, you would be able to hang out with Cap all the time if Maria actually dates him." Coulson gave them one last glare, before he acquiesced.

"I hate you all, but gather around, it's story time." Tony whooped and they settled on the floor, craning their heads to watch Coulson.

"Holding you to those trading cards being autographed, Stark." Coulson threatened. Tony waved him away.

"Yes, yes, now tell us her origin story!" Coulson heaved a sigh.

"Well, here goes."

 **:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:**

 _It was like a cliche scene from a spy movie,_ the man reflected in his head. How, you ask? Well, there were several things to prove this.

1\. He was obviously drugged, because the only other thing that could give him such a pounding headache was alcohol, and he was 90% percent sure that no captor was going to use alcohol to sedate him. That would turn this into a one night stand more than an actual kidnapping.

2\. He was unclothed except for this one thin linen sheet covering his nether regions. Yes, he knew that this really backed the one night stand theory more than the kidnapping theory but give him a chance to prove his point, ok?

3\. He was shackled. Not in a BDSM kinda way, more in a I'm going to harvest your kidneys kinda way, because he was strapped to a metal autopsy table. Getting on board with this kidnapping theory now?

4\. And finally the man couldn't remember anything about himself, even his first name. Though for some reason, he was sure that he had been captured for a long time. He remembered needles pricking into his skin and the unwavering beep of an EKG machine.

Now if this were a cliche movie, his beautiful sidekick/love interest would burst through the door any minute now to save him from this terrible contraption. Unfortunately, this wasn't such a movie.

Though, the man would be lying if he said that he didn't wait a couple of minutes to see if that would happen.

He would also be lying if he said that he didn't feel crushed when no one came.

Instead, he rotated his head trying to gain an idea of where he was, but his neck was restrained with some kind of cast, or more likely a leather fetter, and all he could do was stare at the ceiling. A maze of pipes greeted him up there, with one of them labeled water, another Freon. _Hmm, Freon,_ he thought, _Used for air-conditioning purposes._ From that, he deduced that he was probably being held in a basement of a building.

Could this really get anymore cliche?

Oh wait, it could.

Because, just then the door to man's wonderful room/prison opened to reveal the bad guy.

And just how did the man know that he was the bad guy?

Well, maybe it was because the dude was green. Literally green, like the Wicked Witch of the West, but more of a pea green compared to the Witch's forest green. As the dude approached closer, the man could make out more disturbing features, like his teeth that looked like mold had grown over them, and his blackened gums. His smile made him look oddly predatory, and his hair was grown in mismatched patches. Every inch of his skin was wrinkled. That was how the man knew that the green abomination was the villain.

And to be honest, no superhero looked this ugly

"Good..." the monster drawled, "You are awake, Jonathan." _Jonathan_ , the man softly repeated in his mind. It did seem to fit him, and the one word gave him a stronger sense of identity and resolve.

"You are the first to take the serum. It's a huge honor, don't you think?," the monster grinned devilishly as he snapped his fingers. The door opened and Jonathan heard two sets of feet, walking in warily. He got a glimpse of them from the corner of his eye. One was a woman and the other a man, and they were both wearing lab coats and each carrying a thick syringe filled with an ocean blue liquid.

"Inject him," the monster demanded before he strolled out of the room The woman came around to his left side and the man on the other. Jonathan could clearly read the names on their coats; her's read Anita Stromm and his read George Masters.

'I'm sorry," the man whispered, as he rubbed Jonathan's skin with peroxide, and prepped his syringe. _Then stop whatever you're doing!,_ Jonathan wanted to scream, but found that his voice box would not cooperate with him. The woman on the other side, Stromm, mirrored exactly what Masters did. However, before placing the syringe on the tip of his skin, she looked into Jonathan's eyes.

"This is going to hurt, ok?" She said, in calming voice, and that only served to increase Jonathon's panic.

"3, 2, 1, go," Masters said, and Jonathan felt pain as the needles deposited whatever that serum was into his bloodstream. Then it all disappeared like a calm before the storm. After two moments of peace, Jonathan felt agony shooting up his veins, as if every cell in his body had caught on fire. He started to shake uncontrollably as every inch of his body burned, like it was being pulled every which way. He opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out and he could see Stromm's face frozen in horror, and Masters pulling her out of the way.

"I'm sorry, " he read from her lips and the tears streaming from her face.

The last thing Jonathan remembered was the world, or you know, his little prison, tinged with green.

* * *

 **So, how many of you hate me for not having that flashback yet? :D Anyway, tell me how you feel about the chapter in reviews? Maybe if you like it enough, you could give a favorite? Am I pushing my luck? :D**

 **Spitfire303:** Yes, I feel like if Steve didn't talk to Maria, it would've had Maria running for the hills. Isn't JARVIS like absolutely brilliant? I feel like I would rather have JARVIS as a therapist than like actually going to one, ya know? Like he wouldn't judge, just be wonderfully sarcastic

 **Thesamemistakes:** Sorry for the cliffhanger thing...forgive me? :)

 **GabycatStark13:** Eek, i just realized that i do a bunch of cliffhangers, sorry. Anyhoo, don't you love that JARVIS is a therapist? He probably did learn from Tony, which means he;s probably really good at it too.

 **Amy Hamato:** -hugs back- I love your excitement! Did you like this chapter?


	8. The Good Old Days

**A/N: Here you go guys- the much awaited flashback, atleast the first half of it. It became so long that i had to split it into two, but I promise no cliffhanger this time. If you have any questions with continuity, dont hesitate to PM me :)**

 **Just a quick note- Idk if you remember but Coulson and Maria are telling the flashback, but I've written it entirely in Maria's perspective. Don't worry, ill connect it later on :)**

 **As usual, thank for all the follows, and favorites and such. Responses to reviews at the bottom :)**

 **WARNING: I have references to sex and one thing about sexual assault in here- so now you know.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own any recognizable characters except Will and Kate.**

 **CHAPTER 8: The Good Old Days**

* * *

 ** _December 2004_**

 _The first time Maria had ever seen Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, aka her future fiancé, she judo flipped him over her right shoulder and calmly stepped away ignoring the looks of disbelief on everyone's face._

 _She totally had a right to do this. She had stayed up the night before studying for her stupid Extraterrestrial Creatures exam because there were just so many alien critters out there, and it was difficult for even Maria to memorize. So Maria desperately needed her coffee to stay awake during her exam. She had rushed to the cafeteria for that heavenly bitter nectar and finally reached the coffee machine._

 _She filled the cup to the brim and pressed a lid on the coal black liquid. Maria didn't like any of those sweeteners or cream. She inhaled the fresh scent of it, and took her first sip of the wonderful drink. Regrettably, that was the last sip she took, because just then some random dude bumped into her making her spill her heavenly drink._

 _It was like her entire world went red; she blamed it on the sleep deprivation. And he didn't even apologize, which only added fuel to the fire. So she grabbed him and judo flipped him. Understandable, right?_

 _She stepped over his body on the floor and the line for the coffee machine parted before her, like she was Moses. She grabbed another extra large cup and filled it to the edge and snatched a banana before walking out of the cafeteria, with a satisfied little smirk, because the last she saw the idiot who had dared to bump into her, he was still on the nasty cafeteria floor._

 ** _:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:_**

 _Maria did very well on her exam, thank you very much. Right after, she went to lunch with Kate, a fellow recruit of hers, and dear friend. They both grabbed lunch and the closet table that was empty._

 _"So," Kate said as she unwrapped her sandwich, 'I heard you judo flipped someone this morning."_

 _"News does travel fast in the Academy." She continued at the sight of Kate's questioning eyes._

 _"He made me spill my coffee and I got mad."_

 _"Hard ass Hill strikes again." Kate said as she stole a fry from Maria's tray._

 _"And she won't hesitate to attack her fry stealing friend," Maria retorted._

 _"Don't worry, fair maiden. I'll save you from her," Will drawled as he took a seat next to Kate. Maria noticed the faint blush on her friend's cheek but she didn't say a word._

 _"I don't need saving," Kate bit out and the two began to bicker like usual. Maria idly wondered how long it would take for them to start dating, as she finished up her sandwich and watched their entertaining argument._

 _"Come on, you two. We have to get to Defense class." Maria interrupted. Kate pouted but acquiesced. The trio quickly left the cafeteria hoping they weren't late, because Professor Harris was a bitch about punctuality._

 _A half an hour later, Maria had mastered the new defense move of the day and was currently kicking Will's ass as Kate watched on. Suddenly, the door opened and the class fell silent. Maria didn't realize what was going on until she saw the shock on Will's face and turned to the door to see the Director of SHIELD standing there with the guy that she had judo flipped in the morning._

 _Oh she was so in for it now._

 _"I don't recall telling you to stop." Professor Harris snapped and so the class started practicing again, though quieter than before, as everyone was straining to hear that conversation._

 _"Wasn't that the kid you beat up earlier this morning?" Will asked, and Kate turned to catch a better look at him. Maria responded through gritted teeth and she readied a right hook._

 _"Yeah."_

 _"Man, you are so screwed." Will said, dodging her flying fist._

 _"Probably."_

 _But later, after the conversation between Director Fury, Professor Harris and the Judo Boy (well she didn't know his name), she could have sworn that Nick Fury shot her a smile and a wink as he swept away in his leather. So did Judo Boy._

 ** _:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:_**

 _"So you know that Judo Boy is my new roommate right?" Will asked, a few weeks after the coffee incident. He stretched on Maria's bed, knocking her stuff on the ground._

 _"What?" Maria asked. "And get off my bed, I don't want all your sweat all over it."_

 _"Yeah, his name is Peter Parker. Came here to SHIELD Academy right in the middle of his master's degree. Well, he had only started it three months ago, so not exactly the middle." Will said, as he jumped onto Kate's bed instead._

 _"Hey, I don't want your musk on my bed either!..I wonder why he came with Fury," Kate said._

 _"I'll have you know that my musk could be bottled and sold-that's how it good it smells." Will defended. As usual, Maria ignored their bickering. She really couldn't wait for them to bang each other, maybe that would reduce all the conflicts._

 _"He must be gifted or something, or else why would Fury personally escort him to the Academy?" Maria asked._

 _"I think you're right. He always knows who's coming to our room, five minutes before they arrive. It's crazy. And he always knows when something is about to go wrong. "_

 _"Maybe he's just perceptive," Kate added._

 _"But he has insane reflexes, and almost god like strength." Will countered. All of them fell silent as they remembered the defense lesson a couple of days ago, where Peter kicked Professor Harris's ass with some insane parkour and little exhaustion._

 _"Well, gotta go. Priya has been giving me vibes lately." Will wiggled his eyebrows and walked out of the room. Maria pretended that she didn't see the disappointed look on Kate's face and watched as Kate picked up her pillow and sniffed it._

 _"He could never bottle it. It smells like shit- actual dog shit. A landfill would smell better." Kate muttered and Maria locked eyes with her. Suddenly, she laughed, deeply and wholly, a laugh that was so infectious that had Kate joining in until they both somehow landed on the floor, laughing their hearts out and with tears streaming down their face._

 ** _:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:_**

 ** _March 2004_**

 _Maria saw Peter occasionally here and there but never talked to him. She hoped that it would stay that way because otherwise he might tip her off to Fury for assaulting him. But she had go to Will's room to get her Intelligence notes that Will had stolen the day before, and didn't realize that Peter might be in the room, until he opened the door, all shirtless and sweaty._

 _"Oh, it's Judo Flipper. Maria, right?"_

 _"Yes. Is Will around?" Maria asked, frankly trying to prevent her eyes from dipping lower than his neck. She ended up doing so anyway; it's not like she could help herself._

 _"Nope, " Peter said with a grin. "Checking out the merchandise?" He asked, but his eyes flittered and Maria knew he was trying to hide something._

 _"My grandmother had better abs than you, god rest her soul."_

 _"Oh, ouch, that really hurt. Really that stung. I'm going to need some aloe vera for that. You mind getting me some?" He asked, as he subtly tried to close the door on her. Maria put her heel between the door, preventing Peter from doing so._

 _"I need the notes Will stole from me, so let me in."_

 _"Can't do that."_

 _"Why not?"_

 _"Ummm..." And Maria wanted to mentally smack herself , as she put the clues together. He didn't want to let her in, was shirtless, and sweaty. There could really only be one reason for this._

 _"Oh my god, did I just interrupt you during sex? There's a reason people put ties on their doorknob. We could have avoided this."_

 _"First you assault me, now you claim that I was having sex. No, that's not what I was doing." Peter retorted._

 _"Well, were you masterb-"_

 _"No, I was not! Now let me get you the notes before you taint my reputation further!" Peter slammed the door in her face, and opened it a crack about thirty seconds later with the notes in his hands._

 _"You know, I don't judge..." Maria started._

 _"I am not having this conversation." Peter said, and slammed the door again._

 _"Thank you!" She called, and heard a grunt in response. Maria quickly retreated but couldn't help her giggles along the way, which eventually turned into laughs as she retold the story to Kate and Will._

 _Later though, when she picked up her notes to study, she couldn't help but realize that they were covered in cobwebs._

 ** _:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:_**

 ** _May 2004_**

 _Soon Peter became an enigma to Maria, one that she was motivated to solve. No one knew where he had come from or why he was at SHIELD. Adding to the intrigue was the fact that Peter wasn't attending defense class anymore, which Maria suspected had something to do with the fact that he kicked Professor Harris's ass. (Which was something that should not have been possible)._

 _Fortunately, Will had developed the strangest bromance with Peter which meant that he increasingly spent more time with Kate and her. This gave Maria more time to observe him._

 _Peter was skilled; she'd give him that. He had unbeatable reflexes and strength that gave Maria_

 _chills. Which was how she knew that he was hiding something from his past._

 _Maria understood that. She was hiding from her own past, something she'd swore to keep in the shadows. But that didn't mean her curiosity was satiated. Eventually, Maria did get to know the circumstances that brought Peter to SHIELD Academy, and maybe that's when she fell in love with him._

 ** _:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:_**

 _He was in the gym, parkouring around and striking a punching bag. Maria cautiously stepped in, taking care to make no noise, like a cat quietly stalking her prey. Her discretion proved futile as Peter tensed and Maria knew that she had been caught. She still didn't know how Peter did it; it was like he had eyes on the back of his head, but that wasn't why she was here._

 _She had noticed something different about Peter this week. He had become distant and reserved instead of being his usual jovial self, and lashed out at others. She didn't want to ask him about it until today, when he yelled at Will and rushed out of the room._

 _"Are you ok?" Maria asked, and Peter finally stopped attacking the bag to look up at her. His eyes were bloodshot from fatigue and there was an infinite depth to them, like he was drowning in his own memories._

 _"I'm sorry." Peter quickly muttered out._

 _"There's nothing to apologize for. It's obvious you're mourning and that's something and Will, Kate, and I, well, we recognize and understand it." Peter looked up with questioning eyes, and Maria instantly knew how to get him to share. It was the same way Will and Kate had gotten Maria's story out of her own volition. You always had to give something to get something. She sat down on the closest bench and motioned for Peter to join her, and he obliged._

 _"Will's parents were both SHIELD agents. They were partnered up for a mission in Iran, and it went bad. They both passed away when Will was 13. He couldn't even get their bodies for a funeral. Just two tombstones, and only he knows that there's no one listening to him." Maria recalled._

 _"Kate was sexually assaulted by her mother's boyfriend at 16. She went to the police to file a complaint and to the hospital to get herself checked, but when it actually came time for the case, her mom defended the boyfriend. The case was thrown out. She told me how helpless she felt after that, how she hated that she couldn't protect herself. So she ran away, and Coulson found her just like he found me." Maria finished._

 _"And you?" Peter asked. Third time's the charm, Maria thought in her head. Even after this, if Peter wouldn't tell her about his past, she was ready to beat it out of him._

 _"Me...well, my mother died about a year ago...," Maria started. Peter nudged her to move on. "And it was, well, it was all my fault."_

 _"Your fault?" Peter asked._

 _"Yeah, my dad, well he wasn't a good type. Physically abused me and my mom, so we ran away before I went to high school. We moved from state to state, a new school every year, out of fear that my dad would find us." Maria gulped, knowing that the hard part was to come. God, Peter better tell her what was on his mind, because it was really too early go through all this emotional crap._

 _"I wanted to go to college in Boston, but moving around wasn't conducive to getting a degree. So, I pushed my mom, told her that it was fine, that he probably wasn't even searching for us anymore. My mom fell for my words, and I had thought we had no problems."_

 _"It was after I had graduated. We were planning to leave Boston, because I got a job in New York. I came home one afternoon and I found her being beaten by my dad., and I couldn't do anything to help her. By the time, we got to the hospital she died," Maria said, making sure her voice was still steady as possible. Yes, she was sharing something that she had never shared to anyone else before, but just because she was being vulnerable doesn't mean she had to display it completely._

 _"Coulson recruited me after that," She finished in a slightly softer voice, one that reflected the gratitude she held toward Coulson. They sat together there in a moment of silence, before Maria abruptly rose up from her seat, speaking in her normal, stern tone once again._

 _"Look, I didn't tell you all this to get your sob story as well. It's just obvious that punching that bag isn't helping your problem and that you're hiding something. Now I don't care who you tell about your problem, but get over it." It was rich coming from her, when she still hadn't gotten over her mother's death, but she wasn't the one lashing out on animate and inanimate objects._

 _She stalked away to the exit, silently hoping that Peter would choose to confide in her. Really, it would be ok if he wanted to unload on someone else but Maria was the one down here giving the pep talk, so she thought that she was more entitled to an explanation. But as she reached the door, she still hadn't gotten any indications of admission, so she angrily pushed the door._

 _Before she could step out, Maria heard a quick swoosh noise, like a tennis racket swinging through empty air, and a sudden splat, as whatever that had flown through the air had found its mark. Its mark, being the door that Maria had just burst open. Maria had a split second to see some kind of wire, before she felt something to stick to her own back and a sudden pull, which made her spin._

 _She ended up falling into Peter, grabbing his forearms to steady herself. He had a little smirk on his face, the first she had seen in a little more than a week, that managed in equal parts to warm her up and annoy her. She gave him a little glare, before noticing the elastic cable that was currently wrapped her waist. Wait, it wasn't a cable, it was…_

 _"You have cobwebs coming out of your fucking wrists?" Maria asked, as she flipped over his forearms and pushed up his sleeves and ran her fingers over two visible bumps. She looked up to see his face closer than she had expected, close enough for her to count the freckles on his cheeks or the streaks of gold in his eyes._

 _"It's a long story," he said, like he wouldn't blame her for bailing on him right now. Maria made a show of rolling her eyes as if she had more important things to do, though she couldn't help but let the ends of her mouth curve into a soft smile. A smile that hadn't come so naturally to her in a long time._

 _"Looks like I've got the time."_

 ** _:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:_**

 ** _June 2004_**

 _"I feel like you're making up the part about the radioactive spider," Maria said, as she laid on Peter's bed, two weeks after their 'gym incident' as Maria had labeled in her head. Will and Kate were heavily making out in her room, so she had come here instead._

 _Peter and her had become much closer after 'gym incident', to the point that Kate had asked her if they were dating. Maria shook her head a little too strongly in her denial, and Kate had frowned, muttering Too bad. Lately, Maria had been thinking along the same lines. This was something completely new to her, as Maria has stayed closed up after her mom's death, because she thought that the pain of losing someone wasn't worth the love. Maybe she was wrong._

 _"You have any better explanation, Ria?" Peter asked, sitting on the end of his own bed, with Maria's feet in his lap. She felt herself warm at the nickname that only he ever called her._

 _"I can't believe that the prestigious Midtown Science College would leave radioactive spiders sitting around."_

 _"Correction: hanging around," Peter said, before giving her an amused/proud look at his own pun. Maria scoffed._

 _"A five year old could make a better pun than that," she said, as she popped a chocolate almond in her mouth._

 _"You just keep bruising my ego.."_

 _"So, now you're at SHIELD to train your spider powers?_

 _"Well, they didn't exactly approve my vigilante ways after Uncle Ben's death," Peter said, with a glimmer of sadness in his eyes, but Maria liked to think that it wasn't as bad as before. At least, now he was able to say his uncle's name without hurting as much. "This way, I can still be a vigilante but a properly trained one. Little bit like Daredevil, I suppose."_

 _"You'll never be as badass as Daredevil." Maria said. Just then, her precious bag of almonds had flown out of her hand and into Peter's fist. Goddamn his super spider powers._

 _"Say that again?" Peter challenged. Maria quickly sat up, lunging for the snack, before realizing that she was square on Peter's lap because of her pursuit._

 _Jeez, they hadn't been this close to each other since the 'gym incident'. Maria found herself confronted by his eyes again, the streaks of gold now electrified. They quickly darted to her lips before holding her eyes once more._

 _Maria felt so self conscious in that moment. Was her hair a mess? Were her teeth stained with chocolate? Did she even remember how to kiss? When was the last time-_

 _The questions flew from her head, as she felt her lips being captured by Peter's, soft, warm, and hesitant at first. Maria wrapped her arms around his neck, savoring the moment, that she maybe dreamed about once or twice. She felt her heart expanding with warmth, her heart pounding faster, and they finally stopped for breath. Peter met her eyes, something new filled in them; was it hope?_

 _"A kiss isn't going to change my mind, ya know? Daredevil is still more badass than you," Maria said, a smirk on her face._

 _"That's ok, I can live with that," he replied as a wide smile spread over his own face, one that she had never seen before._

 ** _:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:_**

 ** _May 2007_**

 _Maria hadn't seen Coulson since the day that he had dropped her off the front steps of the Academy in that embarrassingly red car of his that he fondly called Lola. It was an abomination in her eyes; Maria didn't like ostentatious things that basically blinded passersby, but it seemed that Coulson loved that car more than life itself, so she didn't say a word._

 _Today, she was finally going to meet him after three long years. Of course, they still kept in touch over email and IM, but the Academy had some stupid rule about no visitors until the end of junior year._

 _Maria was nervous and excited at the same time; she wanted to prove that she was worth the effort that Coulson had put into her. She wanted to make him proud. Peter told her that she was being an idiot when he had sent her off with a kiss that morning, but Maria couldn't help it. She knew that Coulson had put his job on the line for her, and it was something that she was incredibly grateful for because he had given her life purpose again, and the chance to meet Peter._

 _"Maria?" A familiar voice called, breaking her thoughts into pieces. She looked up to see Coulson, standing there in his usual suit, and with that warm wan smile on his face. He had added a few wrinkles to his face, and a couple of gray hairs, but that didn't matter to her. She flung her arms around Coulson in a hug, and held on for so long that Peter would have started to get jealous. She finally let go and wiped her eyes; those pesky tears were getting in her way._

 _"Coulson," she finally said._

 _"I think you've earned the right to call me Phil at this point," he said with a grin._

 _"Phil," she repeated, "You've gotten old." Coulson laughed._

 _"That is because of one archer named Clint Barton and the latest gift that he brought me."_

 _"Gift?"_

 _"One Russian Assassin by the name of Natasha Romanoff."_

 _"No, the Black Widow?" Maria asked with rounded eyes._

 _"Yup, but we're not here to talk about that. How are you, Maria?" Coulson asked, as his eyes pierced her with an intensity that told her that he was watching for the slightest micro expression that proved her story wrong. Maria was glad to say that she could answer truthfully._

 _"I am great, Phil. The best I've ever been, actually." Maria said._

 _"Ok, I give up. Who is he?" Phil asked._

 _"What?"_

 _"Oh, is it a 'she'? I mean, it's fine, whichever way you swing is fine."_

 _"No, I meant, why do you ask that?" Maria asked. Phil pressed his lips together as he thought for a moment._

 _"When I first met you, you were literally empty. You kept everyone at least 10 feet away, But now, I see you here, and you're vibrant, and I gotta ask, who is it?"_

 _"Peter Parker," she sighed out, "My friends, Will and Kate helped out too, but it was mostly Peter."_

 _"Well, give Peter a high five from me." Coulson said._

 _"Why?"_

 _"Cause I really like this Maria better."_

 ** _:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:_**

 ** _May 2008_**

 _Graduation from the Academy was tomorrow and currently Maria was in Peter's room, telling him what had happened earlier this morning._

 _"So, Coulson got the Director to sign off on me, Will and Kate going with him to New York."_

 _"Really?" Peter asked, excited._

 _"Yup! Apparently,Tony Stark created a huge mess when he admitted that he was Iron Man and Coulson would like help holding down the base, as he'll be your temporary handler for now."_

 _"That's so great, Ria!" Peter said, as he finally stopped packing his things, and dipped in to give Maria a kiss. However, Maria suddenly furrowed her eyebrow as she just realized a problem._

 _"What, have I lost my awesome kissing skills?" Peter asked, as he sat on the bed next to her._

 _"'No, they were satisfactory." She ignored Peter's groan and continued on. "I just remembered that you have to come up with your own superhero name."_

 _"Ooh," Peter's eyes lit up. "How about...Webster?"_

 _"What are you, a dictionary?"_

 _"Right, yeah ok umm...Web Crawler?"_

 _"That makes you sound like you're some kind of internet stalker."_

 _"Uh how about Bug Boy?" Maria shot him a glare to kill, but he shrugged it off as he pulled her into his lap._

 _"How about Spider-Man?" She asked, seriously, facing him. His nose crinkled as he took that in._

 _"Aren't you just ripping off Tony Stark?"_

 _"Still better than Bug Boy." Peter nodded his head in agreement, but looked up quickly, with a nervous look on his face._

 _"Fine, Spider-Man it is, on one condition."_

 _"And what's that?" Maria asked._

 _"Marry me." And those two words took so long to process in her mind._

 _"What?"_

 _"Marry me and I'll be Spider-Man," Peter said this time, with no hesitation. Maria looked into his eyes to see if he was joking, but that usual mischievous glint was missing. Peter was being totally serious._

 _Well, the question wasn't totally invalid, she guessed; they had been dating for about 4 years now, and she was so happy with him. Maybe she had an inability to believe that this was happening because nothing good ever happened to her. She let her eyes look down at the floor, up at the ceiling, and back into those infinite depths that were singing with hope. Hope that she also felt in her heart._

 _"Guess you better get used to being called Spider-Man then." Peter froze for a second before taking her into a kiss that was filled with relief._

 _"Wait, that was a yes, right?" Maria laughed, tears leaking out of her eyes._

 _"Yup."_

 _"Good," Peter said, before he shoved his hands in his pockets and scrambled for something. His face suddenly paled._

 _"Oh no," he whispered._

 _'What?"_

 _"I lost the ring. It was in the pocket of my jeans! Oh my god, Aunt May is going to kill me!" Maria laughed, as she rose out of Peter's lap._

 _"Come on, let's find it."_

 _Later, as they ripped the sheets off the bed, they found the ring stuck between the wall and mattress, where it never would have been spotted if not for Peter's enhanced vision. He knelt before her this time, as he slipped the ring on her finger. It was the first time that Maria had felt like the future held something bright for her._

* * *

 **Amy Hamato:** If Coulson was actually there, I have no doubt that Natasha would have punched him-and so would Clint and Tony :) Im glad you loved the chapter!

 **Spitfire303:** Aww thanks! hope you like this new piece!

 **GabycatStark13:** Here you go! you got one half of Maria's story! the second half is taking me an awful lot of research and time but i hope you'll like that part too! Gosh, i love Tony the fangirl too


	9. The Bad Old Days

**A/N: Ok I'm sorry that it's been so long since I've updated, but between AP's and other finals, my life was all over the freaking place this month. (Tbh, that's really every month but especially worse this month). So once again, Sowwy :(**

 **Ok, so I know that I said that the flashback would be two chapters but...I overwrote (ahhhh). So now it's three, and I'm currently working on the third. A quick tip, try to read the bolded years to help you with continuity. If you don't understand anything, don't hesitate to PM! :)**

 **So, I'm probably wayyy late on this, but I just opened a tumblr (I know!). The url is _sebastianstantheman,_ (don't judge :D) and feel free to drop some prompts or something. I'll definitely try to write a piece even it's not something I ship-it'd be a nice challenge. A little warning though, I've recently gotten into Stony, and I have no idea how, and this is even after watching Civil War. You gonna see a bunch of Stony reblogs, #noregrets :)**

 **Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! Replies to reviews are down below!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own any characters except Will and Kate.**

 **CHAPTER NINE: The Bad Old Days**

* * *

 ** _June 2008_**

 _Being the fianceé of Spider-Man might be a dream come true to anybody else, but for Maria, it was a total nightmare (at least during work)._

 _Peter Parker was a kind soul, a little damaged, but mostly okay, armed with wit and geeky jokes. He was also the love of Maria's life, and the reason that Maria felt like her future was finally bright._

 _However, Spider-Man was a total pain in the ass, as evidenced by the pounding headache that was coming on and the stress that was building in her shoulders. He had a total disregard for rules and the risks that he took usually paid off, which only served to infuriate Maria further._

 _It also didn't help that no one at SHIELD, except Coulson and Fury, could know that she was engaged to Spider-Man/Peter because of the security problems that it could involve. She couldn't even tell Will or Kate, and anyway, they were too busy planning their wedding in November. This meant that Maria had to keep a professional distance from Spider-Man, even after he did some incredibly stupid and life threatening, instead of immediately being able to chew him out for it._

 _That's why Maria settled for a glare as Spider-Man swung into the abandoned building that was temporarily serving as the New York offices of SHIELD._

 _"Good job," she said, her tone clipped, turning back to the screens in front of her. Spider-Man paused but didn't say anything in reply as he left the room. She could tell that he was angry though, probably over the argument they had over the comms. And in reality, she was pulsing with rage too._

 _Coulson stepped up behind her; that man could sense something was wrong even if Maria showed nothing on her face._

 _"Are you ok?"_

 _"I'm fine."_

 _"Then go home," he challenged. "Talk to him. You know that this can't happen again."_

 _"I've got paperwork to finish." Coulson reached over and pulled the wires of the screens out of their sockets, halting Maria mid-work._

 _"Oh look, power cut," Coulson mildly said. He looked around to Maria. "Go. And remember, if this ever happens again, I'll have to intervene."_

 ** _:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:_**

 _Maria opened the door to her apartment to see Peter out of his red and blue costume, and in a Star Wars t-shirt and his normal jeans ._

 _"Why were you and Coulson so mad?" Peter asked, breaking the silence. Ok, so apparently he wanted to address the elephant in the room right away. "Everyone in the robbery/hostage situation was saved- the mission was a success!"_

 _"But you almost died twice, Peter!"_

 _"That comes with the job, Ria." Peter responded, rising from his seat._

 _"If you had actually listened to Coulson or me, you wouldn't have been in those near death situations. You were reckless, Peter."_

 _"I'm the one actually there, Ria. I know what's best."_

 _"Oh, so that's why you were sent to SHIELD Academy. Because you were already doing so great with your vigilantism before." Maria retorted, knowing full well that she was crossing a line. Peter fell silent and Maria took the opportunity to continue. She stepped closer to him._

 _"Peter, there are rules, protocols, that you need to listen to-"_

 _"Rules aren't how the real world works, Maria." Peter cut across her. "The real world does whatever it wants; that's why rules have exceptions."_

 _"But you act like every mission is an exception to the rules! If you make your own orders instead of following Coulson's, then I will guarantee you that someone is going to get hurt." Peter merely glared at her, and Maria continued._

 _"What did your uncle say to you during that last conversation?" She asked, taking his arms and forcing him to sit down with her on their cheap brown couch. Peter gave a snort of derision at her question._

 _"With great power, comes great responsibility." He quoted._

 _"Exactly. Now you have a responsibility to use your powers for good, and you've been doing that with SHIELD. But another part of that responsibility is to make sure that others that don't get hurt, including yourself, as a result of your decisions." Peter stayed silent._

 _"Look, imagine me being out there,, fighting as you gave me orders. But then, me or others got hurt because I suddenly made my own impulsive decision. Don't tell me you wouldn't be giving me this same talk." Maria pointed out. Peter looked up with regret in his eyes._

 _"I would be giving you the same talk," he admitted. "I'm sorry, I should've listened to you and Coulson today."_

 _"It's fine, Peter. Now you know." Maria said, and Peter leaned over and kissed Maria, softly, as if he was asking permission. Maria responded, and the kiss deepened before they were both out of breath._

 _"Makeup sex? I've heard it's the best!" Peter said, wiggling his eyebrows._

 _"You are a child."_

 ** _:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:_**

 ** _August 2008_**

 _Maria was unmistakably nervous. Even an amateur could spot the signs. She kept twisting her engagement ring, smoothing out her fancy navy gown, and chewing on her lip, as she walked side by Peter into Oscorp._

 _"You know you're going to be fine, right?"_

 _"Are you kidding me, Peter? This is the first time I'm meeting your family and friends. Do you remember what happened the first time I met you?"_

 _"I assure you, my family would never knock coffee out of your hands, so you won't have to judo flip them."_

 _"What if they knock the champagne out of my hand?"_

 _"Ok, we're going to implement a general rule for the right: no judo flipping."_

 _"Good, rules. I can follow rules. I thrive on rules." Maria said, as she rolled her neck._

 _"You know this isn't a wrestling match right?" Maria threw him a sharp glare as they walked into the ballroom._

 _"I know that," She snapped back, and stopped at all the opulence that greeted her._

 _Norman Osborn really knew how to throw a party. There were servers everywhere carrying trays filled with fancy hor d'oeuvres that looked like they had been imported from France. Champagne flutes were stacked on top of one another, resembling golden pyramids. There were even two open bars, and two tables filled with more appetizers complete with chocolate fountains at the ends. In the middle of it all, there were samples of the new tech that Oscorp was to present in the coming year. Everyone looked so elegant and poised, making Maria feel like a commoner. Her self confidence plummeted._

 _"Aunt May!" Peter greeted as a middle aged woman came up to them, in a beautiful black dress, with a wide smile._

 _"Peter!" Aunt May threw her arms around him, and ending up rumpling his tux in the process, but Peter didn't mind. She finally released him and turned her eyes onto Maria, her grin only growing wider._

 _"And Maria! Oh, have I heard so much about you, dear!" Aunt May flung her arms around Maria, grabbing her by the neck and pulling her down. Maria was caught by total surprise, and stumbled when Aunt May finally let go._

 _"Hello, Miss May," Maria replied, with a smile._

 _"Oh, you're part of the family now. Call me Aunt May. Now, let me see that ring!" Maria proudly displayed her left hand and the beautiful ring that Peter had given to her._

 _"Aww, isn't it gorgeous?" Aunt May cooed, before another voice replied._

 _"Nothing can be as gorgeous as you, Aunt May." Maria instantly recognized the new person as Harry Osborn, Peter's best friend, and by his side there were three other people, two women and one tall, buff, man. "Peter,' Harry greeted, wrapping him in a hug, and clapping him on the back. Peter grinned as he took in all their faces._

 _"Harry, MJ, Flash, Gwen, how are you guys?"_

 _"Asks the man who disappeared off the face of the planet for four years, then turns up with a really hot fiancée," Flash retorted. Maria felt a flare of annoyance at the comment (they were talking about her as if she wasn't even present!), but she let it slide. Instead, she grabbed a champagne glass from a server who walked by, and took a gulp to calm herself. It was like Peter could discern her anger, because he immediately grabbed her by the arm and pulled her by his side._

 _"Which reminds me, guys, this is Maria Hill, my fiancée." The friends , except Gwen, all regarded her with cold stares, which made Maria want to shrink, but true to her moniker of 'Ice Queen', she didn't flinch. Maybe Peter has sensed it too, and opened his mouth to say something but Aunt May quickly jumped in._

 _"Oh, Peter, I completely forgot. Mr. Jameson wanted to see you, something about Spider-Man's return and photos?"_

 _"Oh, of course, Aunt May," Peter said, but he looked hesitant to leave. Maria squeezed his hand in reassurance, and pushed him away with Aunt May, before turning to his friends and giving them an artificial smile._

 _"Maria Hill," Harry Osborn drawled. Oh, so apparently he was the leader of the pack. Maria looked him straight in the eye, no fear evident._

 _"That's me," she simply replied._

 _"So, Maria Lewis, Maria Christina, Maria Hill-Lewis, Christina Lewis, those aren't you?" Maria's hands tightened around her champagne glass, her knuckles whitening. Those were the aliases that she had used when she was running away with her mom._

 _"Those are me, as well. And before you ask, Peter knows."_

 _"So? Frankly, I don't trust a person who has run around with aliases her entire life, and then disappears off the radar for four years," Flash said. Maria wanted to sigh in relief; at least they didn't know about her mom's death and SHIELD Academy. She watched as Gwen rolled her eyes at Flash; well, at least she was on Maria's side._

 _"But I can tell Peter loves you, so we're going to make this easy to understand," MJ said. Maria felt like she had a slight inkling of where this was going, and she wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all. "Harry?" Harry cleared his throat, before he spoke._

 _"If you hurt Peter in any way, Maria Hill, I swear to god-" Harry stopped, as a short alarm started to blare in the middle of the ballroom. Maria turned and spotted a man coming straight her way, parting the crowd, trying to escape. She could only assume that the fleeing man had stolen a piece of Oscorp tech and was trying to escape. Guess the shovel talk had to be put on hold._

 _"Here, hold this," Maria growled, as she she thrust her champagne glass and her purse into Harry's arms, and slipped off her heels and kicked them to the side. She didn't look back to see Harry's face, and thanked God that she had the foresight to wear a long dress that would allow her stretch her legs._

 _The man came closer and Maria stepped in place. At the right time, she stretched her arm out, hitting the man hard in the chest and causing him to fall on his back. Almost immediately, the thief flipped back onto his feet, and Maria instantly knew that he had to be some kind of professional, but then Maria didn't understand why he would be as sloppy as to trigger the alarm._

 _Pushing the thought away, she focused on her opponent, who came at her with a right hook. Maria blocked it with her left arm and thrust her right palm into his nose. Distracted at the blood gushing out of his nose, he staggered back and Maria took her chance, and kicked him in the abdomen. He sunk to his feet, and with one last right hook, his face was on the floor, unable to get up. Maria kneeled on him, one leg on his back, the other on floor and managed to restrain both of his arms._

 _"Ria!" She heard Peter call, and she looked to see him fight through the crowd, and_

 _finally make it to the front. With part exasperation, part relief, he spoke. "I thought I said no judo-flipping."_

 _"I didn't judo flip him; I merely punched him," Maria replied. "You," she said to Harry, "Give me my purse." Harry didn't move, still in shock from the whole ordeal she supposed, and Gwen wrenched it out of his hands and threw it to her. Maria threw a quick grin at her, before slipping the handcuffs out of her purse and slapping them on the thief before her._

 _"I wonder where your pistol is," Peter asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Maria dipped her hand back into her purse._

 _"Right here, you jackass," Maria replied, waving the firearm, before pointing it toward the thief on the floor._

 _"What is going on here?" Maria turned to the new voice to see Norman Osborn, followed by several guards, anger splayed across his face. His eyes widened as he took in the thief on the floor and the gun in Maria's hands._

 _"Mr. Osborn-" Peter stammered, "I can explain."_

 _"Peter, what is going on?" He turned to Maria, eyes blazing. "Who are you? Why do you have a weapon out in public?" Norman Osborn questioned angrily, gesturing to the crowd around them._

 _"Mr. Osborn, this is my fiancée, Maria Hill. She's...err….law enforcement." Maria cut through Peter as she rose from the ground, gun still directed at the thief._

 _"I believe that this is the thief that tried to steal tech here. Check his inside suit pocket." Norman Osborn nodded at one of his security guards, who promptly did as Maria said. He pulled out a chip from his pocket that undeniably had to be Oscorp tech._

 _"My security has him now, thank you Miss Hill." Norman Osborn, all but growled out, and he retreated into the crowd, his security guards holding the thief behind him. That was weird, Maria reflected in her head, It was almost like he didn't want us to capture him. She quickly brushed the thought away as she turned to return to Peter's friends, with Peter by her side._

 _"What are you?" Flash asked, awestruck._

 _"Oh, I just happen to know self defense," Maria nonchalantly replied, and Gwen gave a chuckle as_

 _MJ's face became pinched. She slipped on her death trap heels and flipped back to Harry, who was still holding her glass. "So, you were saying something?", she asked, an innocent look across her face., as she took the champagne from his hands._

 _"I-uh, well-"_

 _"He meant to say," Gwen started, as she lifted her own champagne glass in a toast, eyes glinting with happiness, "welcome to the family."_

 ** _:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:_**

 ** _September 2008_**

 _These days, Maria started to despise going home, because the Peter that she was going home to was not the one she had fallen in love with. It was like his whole personality had completely changed and she wasn't even sure why._

 _See, despite the talk that Maria had had with Peter a couple of months ago, he was still slipping back into that same impulsive behavior that Maria had warned him of, performing risks that were worse than before. It was as if he thought he was some sort of God, when the rest of the world only saw him as a hero, including her._

 _He often deliberately ignored orders and went on missions without SHIELD authorization. He never listened to anyone else's opinions, figuring that his own conclusions and subsequent actions were always correct, and that Coulson didn't know what the hell he was doing._

 _The success rates of his missions only served inflate his ego. Not to mention the rallies the city often held in his honor, celebrating the masked vigilante that was saving their city with memorabilia, a theme song, and multiple food items after his name._

 _As Coulson had promised Maria the first time this had happened, he intervened when Spider-Man was getting too out of control. The normally stoic man often yelled at Spider-Man for so blatantly ignoring orders and putting people in danger, as some civilians had suffered minor injuries._

 _Which circled back to why Maria hated going home. Because on the days that Coulson yelled at him, Peter would give her the cold shoulder or go into a rant about how SHIELD was completely ruining his life. Maria felt her patience wearing thin at his impetuous behavior, especially today, when Spider-Man had knowingly taken his comm out of his ear, fought against Dr. Octopus, almost died, and destroyed almost two city blocks. Not to mention that he abandoned civilians to rescue her, instead of trusting that she could take care of herself. She had trained in SHIELD for four years, for Gosh sake!; she knew how to handle herself during missions._

 _Needless, to say, Coulson positively burst a vein when he saw Peter later, so Maria was prepared for the oncoming hatred she would receive when she entered her apartment. She gave herself a moment to calm her mind of her own anger before she pushed open the door and saw Peter standing there waiting for her._

 _"What took you so long?" Peter asked with a growl, something that was not out of place these days. Maria pushed past him to throw her purse on the couch and slip off her jacket._

 _"Paperwork for Coulson," she quickly lied, not meeting his eyes and strolling into the kitchen. She was actually with Will and Kate, helping them choose details for their wedding, but really trying to avoid coming home. Peter snorted as soon as he heard Coulson's name._

 _"I don't understand why you do everything for that man, why you follow him so loyally as if he knows everything." Maria tried to smother her anger, but incredibly failed. Seriously, it annoyed her that Peter was criticizing Coulson when it was clearly Peter's error. Who pulled their comm out of their ear during a mission, for Christ's sake?_

 _"Maybe I do everything for him because he's my boss, and I follow orders unlike other people. Or maybe I know how to work with a team." Maria bit out. She opened the fridge as she heard Peter snort again._

 _"And I thought you were on my side all this time." Maria turned to face him._

 _"Just because I'm your fiancée doesn't mean that I agree with you. Coulson was and is right." She placed the frozen lasagna that she had found on the table, and unwrapped it to heat up._

 _"So you think that I should follow Coulson's directives even when I see a better way? Even when you're in danger?" Peter exploded._

 _"Yes, because your 'better ways' end up putting civilians in more danger than Coulson's orders. Because your 'better ways' cause more property damage, as you show off to the crowd that surrounds you, so you know what? I'd rather you follow Coulson. And trust that I can take care of myself considering that I am a SHIELD agent. Basically, I'm asking you to trust your team." She abandoned the lasagna and stalked away to the living room to have a breather, but Peter followed her, face reddening._

 _"I don't have a team, what are you talking about? All that I do is on me." Peter said._

 _"So you think that Coulson and I are not on your team? We don't have your back?"_

 _"Well when my 'team' seems to think that all I do show off to the crowd instead of saving people, then maybe I don't have one!"_

 _"I watch your missions, Peter. You act cocky and arrogant when the cameras or anyone is there. Remember this; your overconfidence is going to get someone hurt one day. And you're going to regret not following orders."_

 _"Coulson isn't God, you know? You don't have to follow everything that he says." Maria froze at those words, because to her Coulson was God, who had saved her from the Hell that she was in after her mother's death and gave her life new purpose. And Peter knew this. She grabbed her jacket and her purse, and stormed to the door._

 _"Coulson may not be God," she said, and as she opened the door, "But you sure as hell aren't one, either."_

 ** _:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:_**

 _Maria knocked on the apartment door, hoping that it would swing open. To her relief, it did, and Gwen was standing there, surprise evident on her face._

 _"Maria?" she asked, craning her neck. "Are you ok?"_

 _"Can we talk?" Maria asked quickly, bowing her head. She wasn't one who allowed others to see her vulnerability, even though she had come to Gwen for help._

 _"Yeah, come in," Gwen ushered. Maria slipped off her jacket as she entered and Gwen pointed her to the living room that was illuminated with the soft glow of the TV. "Usually, we have these talks on the phone. Coming in person, that's new," she tried, in an attempt at humor._

 _"I know you know that Peter is Spider-Man," Maria started. Gwen's face didn't change._

 _"And I know that you work for SHIELD and are Spider-Man's handler." Maria was confused for a second, before realizing that Gwen probably knew this the same way she did: Peter told them. Gwen pointed to the TV that was broadcasting footage of today's earlier fight with Spider-Man and Dr. Octopus. "Rough day?"_

 _"That's the least of it," Maria acknowledged, as she and Gwen both sat on the sofa.._

 _"That must be hard, working with your fiancée when he's a superhero, and trying to keep that separate from your domestic life."_

 _"Well, don't worry. That precarious balance already went to hell today."_

 _"He didn't follow orders, did he?"_

 _"How did you even know that?" Gwen simply shrugged._

 _"It's Peter. So, what happened?" Maria took a breath, and told her everything from start to finish. About how reckless Peter was, about how it was affecting their relationship at both work and home, and the fight she had with him about an hour ago._

 _"Wow," Gwen said as Maria finished. "Peter is acting impulsively, but really you're not going the right way about this either. "_

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _'Well, obviously he skived the orders to save you-you're his fiancee."_

 _"Then, what do I do? Wait till he ignores orders, saves me again, and then someone else actually gets hurt?" Maria questioned, and Gwen winced._

 _"Not exactly, but maybe you both should get some space. Let yourself think and calm down."_

 _"Can I stay here for the night?" Maria asked. Gwen looked at her with a critical eye._

 _"Of course you can, but don't forget, you're going to have to go back." Maria looked down to her engagement ring and didn't respond._

 ** _:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:_**

 ** _October 2008_**

 _A week had passed before she actually talked to Peter again. Sure, she still watched over him over missions, but she made sure to leave debriefings quickly and avoid talking to him by hanging out with Will and Kate during lunch._

 _However, she let her guard down in a usually unpopulated corridor and within three seconds found herself in a dark broom closet with Spider-Man. Peter ripped his mask off, revealing his disheveled hair and fatigued eyes. Maria resisted the impulse to smooth down his hair, and instead regarded him with cool glare._

 _"I hope you know that holding a SHIELD agent against her will is a felony."_

 _"I'm just talking to my fianceé who currently hates me. Not a felony."_

 _"What would you like to talk about, Mr. Parker?" She looked at her watch. "I have other places to be." Peter sighed in resignation._

 _"Ria, I'm sorry." Maria's annoyance flared._

 _"Is there anything else?'_

 _"I'm an idiot, I shouldn't have said that stuff about Coulson and I really apologize."_

 _"Really? Do you really apologize? I'm not even upset about Coulson. I'm upset that you think that we're not a team."_

 _"We are a team, inside and outside of work."_

 _"Yeah well this team is cracking apart, Peter. I mean, if you can't even follow Coulson's orders, how are you going to follow mine?"_

 _"Yours?" he asked confusedly._

 _"Peter, if Coulson leaves in a couple of weeks like he's supposed too, who did you think would be your new handler?" Realization dawned on his face._

 _"Ohhh…" he slowly said._

 _"I mean, if you can't even follow orders from Coulson who literally demands respect , how are you going to follow them from me? And you already get so mad at Coulson at home. When I give orders at work and you don't like them, are you just going to ignore me when I come home? Yell at me every time you think I'm doing something wrong?"_

 _"It'll be different. We know each other well enough to make this work. "_

 _"I don't know, Peter. We have to be able to separate what happens at work from what happens on the field. Here, I'm not your fianceé, I am your boss. And if you can't make that distinction, and you can't trust my call, then this is not going to work."_

 _"Maria, give me a chance. Let me prove that I can separate the two."_

 _"You also have to trust that I can take care of myself on these missions. You don't have to be protecting me, only the civilians." She said. He eagerly nodded in agreement._

 _"I will," he solemnly promised, crossing his hand over his heart, and Maria rolled her eyes._

 _"Fine. One chance, Parker."_

 _"Will you come home tonight?" Peter asked, and she thought about the lack of things that she had at Gwen's home._

 _"Yep," she finally decided. Peter grinned, flashing his pearly whites._

 _"Great!" and he jumped out of the storage closet, putting his mask back on._

 _Maria didn't know if she had made the right decision, but she would be lying if she didn't say she was happy to go back home to Peter._

* * *

 **Are you happy that I didn't end with a cliffhanger? Drop me a review, I'd really appreciate your opinions! :)**

 **Oh another quick thing, I've posted this story on Archive of our Own too, but so far only 2 chapters though, cuz i'd like to space it out a little. Maybe y'all like that website better?**

 **Amy Hamato:** You got some Coulson in here, and you'll get some more in the next chapter! :D

 **Freedom to Rarity:** Aren't they? TBH a little bit relationshop goals :)

 **Spitfire303:** I could ship this too, but you're right, it has to go bad :(


	10. The Really, Really, Bad Old Days

**A/N: Here's the last part of the flashback! I hope you all enjoy the wonderful angst in this chapter** **\ (•◡•) /**

 **Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! Replies to reviews are down below!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own any characters except Will and Kate.**

 **(Gosh, this is like the shortest author's note i have ever written).**

 **CHAPTER TEN: The Really, Really, Bad Old Days (Ok, I'm sorry for this horrible title)**

* * *

 ** _November 2008_**

 _Maria watched on the screen as Spider-Man flew at Sandman with the water hose that the firefighters had finally brought. Will and Kate stood behind her, humming appreciatively at the scene. They observed as Flint Marko disintegrated and Spider-Man returned the hose to the firefighters with a quick salute._

" _Good job, Spider-Man," Maria quietly said in the comm. She watched as Spider-Man perked his head up in happiness, searched for the security camera, and blew a kiss. Will snickered behind her._

" _Spider-Man's making moves on you? Damn, Peter better watch his girl," Will murmured, before Kate hit him on the shoulder._

" _Shut up!"_

" _Ouch! You know I could divorce you for that kind of assault!"_

" _Will, we're only getting married in two weeks. You can't divorce me yet."_

" _Fair point. I'll divorce you 24 hours after we get married." Maria turned to them at that point._

" _Why 24 hours after the wedding?" Maria asked Will._

" _The booze and the sex, of course." Maria rolled her eyes as Kate hit him in the side._

" _Hey, I'm serious about the divorce!" Will said, and Kate rolled her eyes in exasperation._

" _Are you sure you want to marry him?" Maria directed to Kate._

" _Honestly, I have no clue why I agreed."_

" _You agreed because you fell for my extremely charming wit, my gorgeousness, and all around perfection," Will countered._

" _All things I have yet to see," Spider-Man said as he swung into the room. Will jumped at his voice, but his face quickly morphed into annoyance._

" _Can't you enter the room like a normal person?" Will asked, and before Spider-Man could respond, he was interrupted by a junior SHIELD agent, a little timid thing, named Trevor Stiles._

" _Agent Hill," he interrupted with a slight quiver in his voice, holding a tablet reverently. Maria frowned, as she responded._

" _Yes?"_

" _Uhh...it's a phone call for you."_

" _Who is it, Agent Stiles?" She asked as she took the tablet out of his hands._

" _Ma'am, it's...umm...Daredevil." Maria blinked back in surprise, as Kate gasped and Will squealed like a fangirl._

" _Sorry, what?"_

" _Daredevil, Ma'am? The vigilante of Hell's Kitchen? At least that's who the man claims and he refuses to speak to anybody else but the commanding officer."_

" _Ok, then, well thank you Agent Stiles." She said, making it clear that she was dismissing him. He walked away a little crestfallen, and Maria looked at the group, before tapping the tablet. "Agent Hill, here." she said, unable to mask the surprise in her voice._

 _A deep voice came out the other side, one that Maria had to strain to hear. "Agent Hill, this is Daredevil speaking. Let me make this short; if you trace my location you will see that I'm currently in Hell's Kitchen, and since that won't be enough for you, let me name all the criminals that I have dropped at your front door step: The Owl aka Leland Owlsley,The Jester aka Jonathan Powers, Bullseye-"_

" _What can I do for you, Daredevil?" Maria interrupted. Obviously this guy was the real deal; no one knew about those names without clearance._

" _Well, let's say that I'm a little overworked at the moment so I'm going to need SHIELD's help." Maria raised an eyebrow and hummed, encouraging him to continue._

" _I have my hands full with The Punisher, but I've heard through the grapevine that Kingpin, aka Wilson Fisk, is smuggling in weapons up the Upper Bay-"_

" _And you want our help because eventually those weapons will eventually end up in Hell's Kitchen?"_

" _Not just Hell's Kitchen-all over the city, Agent Hill. Now I've heard that a shipment is coming in tomorrow at Pier 92. Stealth is crucial."_

" _Understood. And by the way, are you alright with the Punisher?" It was Daredevil's turn to sound surprised, as if no one had ever inquired about his own well being before._

" _Uh- I am fine, Agent Hill. Thank you for asking.'_

" _Excellent," Maria replied, "I trust that I can call back to this number when the job is done."_

" _Yes, definitely. Thank you Agent." The sound abruptly cut off and Maria looked up to see an excited Will and an exasperated Kate, who was rolling her eyes at Will's elation. With the mask covering Peter's face, Maria couldn't tell how he felt, but his whole body was jittering around, so she would guess that he was pumped._

" _I can't believe that I just spoke to Daredevil!" Will exclaimed. Spider-Man nodded his head in agreement._

" _You didn't even say a word to him, Will." Kate countered._

" _He spoke to my soul, Kate, and I responded by agreeing to go on the Pier 92 mission tomorrow." Will turned puppy dog eyes to Maria. " Can I please, please go? It'll be my last mission before a month of domestic bliss."_

" _Well, if your soul has already agreed, I don't see why not."_

" _I suppose I'll join this idiot," Kate sighed. Maria smiled and nodded in acceptance._

" _Can I?" Spider-Man asked, and Maria faltered. Of course it would be great to have Peter on the mission, but Daredevil had specifically said that it was a stealth mission, and Spider-Man in his red and blue spandex was too obvious._

" _I don't think so, Spider-Man. It's a stealth mission. We will probably only have you in a backup capacity." Spider-man's shoulders fell a bit. Will rubbed his hands together._

" _So when do we start planning?" he asked._

" _30 minutes, go get Agents Evans, Downey, Renner, Ruffalo, uhh and Stan and get to the conference room." Will and Kate immediately left, leaving Maria with Peter._

" _Hey, don't take it personally, ok? But we need to keep stealthy here. You can hang out with me in Command for a change. "_

" _Oooh that'll be fun. Sitting in a van that can barely fit both of us." Maria threw him a glare, and he quickly changed his tune. "I mean, yes I love sitting in uncomfortable vans with the most awesomest person in the world. Totally. What a great idea for Saturday night." Maria rolled her eyes and gently whispered under her breath._

" _See you at home later." She looked around to see no one there and pressed a quick kiss on his cheek before running off._

 _ **:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:**_

 _ **The Next Night**_

 _The idea was simple enough: Will, Kate and Agent Evans would go undercover with the Kingpin. It was an actual miracle that they were able to get identities quickly, but Fisk had decided to use people from another gang, making it easy for them to slip in as if they were there all along._

 _However, they had originally planned to have agents patrolling the outside of the warehouse, but the Kingpin already had men stationed. That was but a little roadbump, as Agents Downey, Renner, Ruffalo and Stan incapacitated some and easily took their places._

 _Maria herself was also patrolling the warehouse, shivering in the chilly night, instead of being in Command as originally planned. It was the first time that she had been in the field with Spider-Man, being his handler. She was out here for two hours now, when finally something happened._

" _Shut up, Spider-Man," she said, effectively cutting off his prattle over the comms._

 _A Lincoln drove onto the pier, its headlights turned off, blending in with the cold night. Maria wouldn't have noticed it, if not for the small snowflakes that were falling from the cloudy sky, brightly contrasting with the black paint on the the car. It rolled to a stop in front of the warehouse and a corpulent man stepped out, his head bald and the rings on his fingers glinting._

" _All agents, be advised, Kingpin is here." Maria murmured into her comm. She watched as Kingpin entered the warehouse with a swagger that tempted Maria to punch him. He paused for a second next to Agent Evans and Maria tensed, wondering if the mob boss had made Evans. But he quickly sauntered inside and Maria let out a breath before following him inside._

" _Are they here yet?" Fisk growled to a man who looked like a lawyer, most probably his second in command._

" _The boat's is unloading right now, sir."_

" _Excellent." The man strode toward the left of the warehouse, where it opened to the ocean, and where said boat was currently docked with men unloading huge crates. Maria hid in the shadows as she watched Will, Kate and Evans help them. The Kingpin came to one of the crates and held his arm out. Instantly, a crowbar was placed in his hand and he used it as a lever to open the crate. It swung open and the Kingpin deftly picked up a large machine gun, but Maria could not tell the model from the distance._

" _Guns, what a beautiful thing. The slight pressure of a finger on the trigger and you can take away any obstacles, any hindrance out of your way. Like…" The Kingpin suddenly pointed the gun at the ceiling of the warehouse and shot several rounds, not flinching at all to the highly magnified noise. "A certain deviled vigilante."_

 _Maria's eyes widened at his words. The entire thing was a trap- a ploy get Daredevil rushing in to save the day. However, now the Kingpin would ensnare a bigger fish-Spider-Man. She pressed her hand to the comm._

" _Spider-Man, do not ambush the warehouse. I repeat, do not ambush the warehouse."_

" _I'm coming in Agent Hill, no matter what."_

" _Spider-Man, remember what you promised. We're a team." Maria pressed, hoping that he would remember the pledge he had made to her just two weeks ago._

" _I-I can't . I'm coming in." Before Maria could react, Spider-Man flew through the bullet ridden ceiling, landing in front of Kingpin. To his credit, the mob boss didn't flinch at the intrusion and simply stepped back, a grin gracing his slightly predatory features._

 _"Well, look at this Wesley. I set a trap for the mouse, but I end up catching the annoying mole." Spider-Man looked confused for a second, before his head straightened._

" _Fuck," Spider-Man whispered under his breath, as the henchmen that surrounded him pulled out weapons of mass caliber point it at Spider-Man. Without any other options, Maria saw Will, Kate and Agent Evans do the same._

" _Now, I can kill the vigilante who's been ruining business for all the crime lords in New York, instead of just the one who's been ruining it for me in Hell's Kitchen. What a nice payday." The Kingpin straightened his cufflinks and swiveled to leave the warehouse. "Light it up, boys."_

 _Maria heard the safety's being pulled off the guns and the shots ringing through the air. She emerged from the back and took out as many of them as she could, but the henchmen came in never ending waves. At least Will and Kate seemed to be safe, and Spider-Man seemed to be doing well against the gunmen. He was swinging through the air dodging bullets, webbing up the guns and the men who held them. However, she saw Agent Evans let out a cry and fall to the ground, and worry settled in her stomach._

" _I told you not to come. You promised that you would trust me to take care of myself." Maria growled into the comm, as she made her way to Evans and knelt by his side to check his wound. It had hit him in the abdomen and he was losing blood fast._

" _I'm sorry, my senses were tingling and I had to come." Maria resisted the temptation to roll her eyes._

" _Can your wonderful senses get us out of here?" She bit out. "I think not. Come over here." She watched as Spider-Man flew over and landed behind Will and Kate, who had taken the opportunity to cover them both._

" _Shoot your webbing at his wound." Maria commanded. Finally, it was the one order that he followed through on. The webs sprung out of his forearm and staunched the bleeding, but they still had to get him to medical. Maria pressed the side of her comm to alert the rest of the backup agents waiting outside to come in, but Kate quickly interrupted._

" _Uhh, Maria, you got to see this." At her tone, Maria quickly looked up to see that the gunmen were slowly retreating from them, exiting through the warehouse doors, but not ceasing fire._

" _Shit, they're trying to trap us in the warehouse." Will cursed. He was right, which meant that they needed to get out of here now. Maria's eyes caught on the snowfall falling from the sky, and remembered the huge hole that Spider-Man had created when he had burst through to attack._

" _Spider-Man, you're going to take Agent Evans, Will, and Kate away from the scene through there." She pointed upward to the ceiling. "I am going to stay behind to guard you all-you come back for me last. Do not fight, do you understand? Trust me now, at least." She took his hesitant nod as acceptance, and pressed the button on her comm._

" _All agents outside- arrest the men that are fleeing the warehouse. Have a med team ready for Agent Evans." She heard several people murmur copy, and looked back to the three in front of her._

" _Well, what are you waiting for?" She loaded her gun, and slipped behind the crates, and felt herself in the zone. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Spider-Man flying through the air and made sure to aim at those who were trying to shoot him out of the sky. Finally, he had made it with Agent Evans, and Maria let out a sigh in relief. But her problems were only about to start._

 _She aimed to shoot again, but her gun just clicked tonelessly. "Shit," she quietly cursed, but Spider-Man heard it anyway._

" _What happened?" he demanded._

" _Nothing, follow your orders." she commanded. And of course, he didn't listen, and swung from out of nowhere to plant himself right next to her. Maria rolled her eyes so hard._

" _Did we not discuss this? Separating emotions from work? Separating fianceé me from boss me?" She hissed under her breath. Spider-Man ripped his mask off, eyes wild, and Maria was tempted to take a step back._

" _I refuse to lose you, Maria." And stepped out in front of the gun men, mask back in place, before she could even mention that she had a gun shoved in her boot. She pressed the button on the side of her comm._

" _Hang on, Will and Kate, Spider-Man's gone to show off."_

" _That little piece of shit." Will cursed. "Tell him that if I don't get out of this shtistorm and marry Kate, I am going slice off his manhood." Maria snorted in derision._

" _Heard that, Spider-Man?" Kate questioned._

" _Loud and clear." he said, and Maria watched as he dodged bullets and managed to gracefully incapacitate all of the gunmen, almost like he was dancing ballet instead of being a live target. Within no time, Spider-Man was done. Maria slipped out from behind the crates as the last one dropped._

" _You guys can come out now." Maria yelled. She saw Will and Kate slip out thirty yards away, and turned to see Spider-Man._

" _Not bad," she allowed grudgingly, "but if you ignore my orders ever again, I will personally cut off your manhood." Spider-Man opened his mouth, but Maria never heard what he had to say; rather she saw a bright yellow and orange light as if the sun had decided to rise right next to her, giving off heat that made her skin crawl, and finally closing with a resounding boom._

 _ **:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:**_

 _She couldn't tell the difference between the ashes of the warehouse and the soft snow that was slowly spiraling to the ground. Both had taken on the gray tinge of destruction._

 _She couldn't move; her right ankle screeched with pain and her arms were burning. She blinked her eyes repeatedly and made out Agent Renner's face, barking out orders and marked with concern. She felt herself being lifted into the air, and with all the pain she felt, she wished to disappear into nothing._

 _ **:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:**_

" _There was a bomb hidden in one of the crates, especially for Daredevil. It seems that one of the men that Spider-Man incapacitated was able to activate the bomb through his cell phone. Agents Spencer and Wescott were the only deaths, and you and Agent Stan, and some of the Kingpin's men were injured." Agent Renner concluded. He threw her a pitying glance, and walked out of her hospital room. Maria could only stare at the end of her hospital bed, because she didn't know what else to do._

 _She had hated hospitals with their pristine white walls ever since she had to come to them when she was younger, when her father got mad. And she couldn't look at Peter. Instead, she stared at her toes, which were healing quite nicely even after being burned._

" _Maria, speak to me. Look at me. Cry. Just do something, god damn it!" Peter screamed in frustration._

" _I can't," she said tightly._

" _What?" he asked._

" _I can't." she repeated. "I can't speak to you, because I just remember the last thing that Kate said. I can't look at you, cause for some twisted reason, I see Will. And I don't cry in front of people that I don't trust." she confessed, without an ounce of remorse. She chanced a look at Peter, whose skin had turned pale, stricken with guilt, but Maria couldn't stop the words coming out of her mouth, each employed to evoke guilt._

" _You promised that you would separate our lives Peter, you promised that we'd be a team. But we couldn't do it, and now Will and Kate…" she trailed off. "They were able to do it, they were able to work together, and all we managed to do was fight about it."_

" _Maria-"_

" _If it's an apology, I don't want to hear it, because this was all my fault. It was my fault for trusting you to do this, my fault for believing that we could actually work together. And everytime, I look at you, I'm just reminded of my mistakes. It's like being unable to save my mom again."_

" _Stop it, Maria. If anything, it was my fault. I was the one who made it all worse instead of saving them, like the hero I'm supposed to be."_

" _You're right." Maria said, and didn't argue anymore, because she wasn't letting Peter get away with this one. She told him that someone could get hurt, and never stopped to make sure that he understood the consequences, and now she was standing here without two of the most important people in her life._

 _Later that evening, Peter was still in her room and Maria was restraining herself from yelling him to leave. Instead, she quietly waited until his snores had become deeper, like she was used to hearing in that crappy apartment of hers. She crept out of her bed and slipped into her shoes, grabbing the night bag that someone had brought for her._

 _She opened the door and edged out of the room, not looking back. Running away was something familiar to her and right now, she wanted to get as far away as possible._

 _ **:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:**_

 _Coulson opened the door, bleary with sleep, but on sight of Maria's face, he quickly became alert._

" _I had nowhere else to go." She said, before Coulson could ask anything. Still looking a little shocked, he moved aside and she pushed past him into the apartment._

" _You're supposed to be in the hospital, Maria," he said, as a weak attempt at admonishment._

" _I don't like hospitals."_

" _Me too," a new voice said, and Maria wasn't even surprised by the intrusion. She didn't feel anything to be honest; her emotions were numb like hands that had frozen in the cold. She merely glanced at where the voice had come from, and on the couch there were two people, one with strikingly red hair, cropped short, and the other with blond hair, looking at her curiously, ignoring the crappy late night programming on the television._

" _Who's she?" he asked. Maria was too defeated to answer, and Coulson stepped in._

" _This is my friend, Maria Hill. Maria, Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff." he said, pointing toward, the respective persons. Maria vaguely processed that she was in front of the legendary Hawkeye and Black Widow. "And they're just about to leave."_

" _What? You promised breakfast for us!" Clint protested, but Natasha laid a hand on Clint's shoulder, as she looked at Maria with piercing green eyes almost if she could completely read her._

" _We'll see you tomorrow, Phil. Night, Maria." She steered Clint out of the apartment and their departure was marked by the slam of the apartment door._

 _Maria dropped onto the couch as the energy had left her body. It was a miracle she hadn't done so before, but she was determined to leave New York to come here to DC and get to Coulson. Now she could give up in front of the man that she trusted the most._

" _What happened?" Coulson asked._

" _Didn't you read the mission briefing?"_

" _I'd think I'd prefer to hear it from you." Maria gazed at him for a moment, coming to the conclusion that Coulson was the only one that she could surely trust in the whole world. So she told him, and not a single tear dropped from her eyes as she talked about losing Will and Kate._

 _ **:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:**_

 _Coulson had talked to Fury the next day, as she stayed at his apartment, feeling empty. He came back with the news that she'd be working under him, helping him handle Hawkeye and Black Widow._

" _I refuse to do this, Coulson. I'm not getting anymore agents killed."_

" _Maria, Will and Kate's deaths were not your fault, nor were they Peter's."_

" _I wasn't capable of leading - I never should have agreed to work with him. I'm not going to make the same mistake again." Coulson sighed._

" _Are you going to their funeral this afternoon?" Maria felt that nauseous feeling hit her again, but she kept cool._

" _I don't think people want the murderer to be present at the funeral." She made a move to slip into the guest bedroom, but Coulson quickly stopped her._

" _Are you not going because of your guilt or because he might be there?" Maria looked up at him, but didn't respond, instead managing to run away from the questions and the implications that it brought._

 _ **:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:**_

 _She didn't go back to work for a week, and Coulson seemed to accept it. He routinely made sure to wake her up in the morning and force her to eat breakfast before he left for work. On Saturday' Coulson slept in and Maria thought of doing something to repay him for letting her stay in the turned out to be a bad idea._

 _Maria could cook and all, but she had decided to turn on the TV, just to have something going on in the background as she methodically pulled out flour , butter, eggs and everything else she needed to make pancakes. The anchor's saccharine voice made Maria want to throw up, but she mindlessly listened to it anyway as she cracked eggs into the flour._

" _Lovely fall morning today, folks. Go out and smell the air. It's really a great day for a walk or a bike ride. Can you believe that it's already the last Saturday of November, Walter?" Maria froze at those words._ No, it surely, couldn't be, _she thought in her mind. She abandoned her pancake batter and rushed to her phone to check the date._

 _Unflinchingly, it looked back at her; November 29th, 2008. She fell to the floor on her knees, the tears that she had repressed for so long finally coming out in full force._

 _That was how Coulson found her. Tears running down her face, wetting her sweater and curled in a ball. True to his character, he sat beside her, enveloping her into a hug, where she proceeded to ruin his shirt as well._

 _Finally, when the tears wouldn't come anymore despite the guilt she felt, she slowly wiped her eyes. Coulson let her go at the movement, but she couldn't make herself look at his eyes. Her eyes were glued to the floor as she spoke._

" _They were supposed to get married today." Coulson sucked in a deep breath. "I mean, I know this is stupid but-"_

" _Maria, never apologize for crying," Coulson quickly cut in. "and never feel weak because of it." Maria didn't respond._

" _Can we go see them today?" she quietly asked, sneaking a peek at Coulson's face. He looked oddly relieved._

" _Yes, definitely."_

 _ **:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:**_

 _Their graves were right next to each other, sharing a tombstone. Maria knelt in front of it, reaching out to trace the words carved on the grey stone:_ Here lie Kate Wescott and Will Spencer: partners in life and beyond. _She dimly wondered who ordered the inscription, before opening her mouth._

" _You certainly picked a wonderful wedding day. The air is crisp and cool, and I can almost taste the pumpkin spice. You would've loved it, Kate."_

" _I guess it's better this way- you two, I'm sure, have somehow made into Heaven. And I guess that's a better place to have a wedding, right? Will, you could have your parents there, and Kate, your father will be there to walk you down the aisle." Maria brushed a tear away from her face._

" _You know, you guys taught me that it was okay to love again, even after losing everything. You made me forget the pain, but now I remember once more, and Coulson is helping me with it. But in the future, I'll be alone again, and then what am I supposed to do? I can't always come here and talk to your graves."_

" _I bet you're asking about Peter. Well, I haven't told you this, but Peter was actually Spider-Man. I left him because, well because of you guys, and me, I guess. I couldn't look at him without wondering about how this was all my fault and without feeling angry at him."_

" _I hate this feeling of loss. Maybe it's better to never loved at all, seeing as everyone I ever love is taken away from me. Am I cursed?" She let out a watery chuckle, but turned serious._

" _I love you guys so much, and I'm going to miss you so much. But I don't think that I can ever go through this again. I feel like an infant, unable to do anything, depending on others, finding it impossible to keep track of all these emotions. You know how much I hate feeling vulnerable."_

 _She rose from the grass and pressed her hand to her lips and back on the tombstone, before turning and walking back to Coulson who was waiting in the car. In the short walk, Maria had made up her mind on two things. One; she was taking that job with Coulson. And two, she was never going to allow herself to get hurt again._

 _(The next day, Maria slipped the ring off her hand, slipped it into an envelope, and sent it to Gwen. Then, she started her new life)._

* * *

 **Did you like the chapter?** **Drop me a review, I'd really appreciate your opinions! :)**

 **GabycatStark13:** I know i kinds really made it obvious but I gotta set up the frameworl somewhere :)

 **Kitty:** Aww you're so kind omg! You've made my day! I hope you also really like this chapter as well! :)

 **Spitfire303:** Thanks fam! :D

 **Kokoro=Yolin-chan:** Hope you like this new chapter!


End file.
